Conflated
by Anomilymous
Summary: (KLAROLINE) When idles conflate, nothing can separate the connection created blatantly. There's more to everyone than meets the eye and the darker secrets under cloaks of darkness can be both heart breaking and prejudiced. But who says it's going to be simple? A human fanfic of almost all TVD characters - conjoining the two very separate worlds resulting in chaos. Will all survive?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia.**

 **16th April, 2000.**

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Sheriff Forbes declared smacking her bare hands at the Hey side of the desk, where nine other people were seated. All the members of the Mystic Falls Council were confined into the meeting room which stanched of anxiety and nervousness. "The council will be held responsible."

"We are aware of that, Liz." Carol Lockwood raised her voice, her arms crossed against her chest, biting into her perfectly manicured fingernails.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Liz questioned. "This was the plan to put a stop to what could have happened —to act against nothing but a threat given by him! And now, _she_ is dead! His. Wife. Is. Dead! We had to keep her as leverage against My—"

"We took the responsibility of protecting one of our own by killing one of them! This only worsens things!" Grayson Gilbert announced. "He'll retaliate and this time, I'm afraid there will be a massacre and he'll rip our damned heads off and keep them as trophies."

"We had no choice but to kill her! She was going to shoot Giuseppe and he acted in self-defense!" Logan Fell snapped.

"It's true I mean —" Giuseppe Salvatore was interrupted.

"It's not our fault she tried to shoot —" Logan tried to convince everyone.

"It _is_ , Logan!" Liz Forbes banged her hand again. "If we hadn't kidnapped her —"

"Then he would have killed Han —" Kelly Donovan was interrupted by Miranda Somers-Gilbert.

"Who is dead anyway! Everything — is just a mess! It's all screwed. We failed. And — and I fear that Grayson's right... What if he comes after us!? What if comes after our children!?"

"We won't let that happen..." William Forbes trailed off.

" _How_?" Liz glared at her husband, her blue eyes shooting daggers. "Enlighten me, Bill."

Richard had sat on his chair, throughout the discussion. He seemed to be drifted into a deep thought. "We frame him..." Mayor Lockwood informed. "For murdering his wife."

"What!?" Miranda and Kelly said at once. Everyone else glanced and the Mayor. Liz was still stunned by the new idea suggested by the Mayor; it took her a moment before reacting.

"That is insane! We did this. This is our doing - "

"Liz, would you rather let him run loose and drag our asses to prison leaving our children behind — under the care of a pathetic foster system? For God's sake, think! We did not have the permission to carry out the plan, yet we did it to protect this town! If the government finds out about this, we lose everything! If not, we are in danger. And so are our children." Mayor Lockwood gestured. He took a moment to sigh. "He's a threat now. The moment he gets back on his feet, we are all as good as dead. We made a mistake and now we are forced to fix it. "

"You call this fixing the mistake!?" Miranda shook her head, hugging herself.

"This is just covering up one mistake with another, don't you think Mayor? This doesn't make us any better than monsters like him." Rudy Bennett suggested.

"It will put away the monster that we're all afraid of," Mayor said. "One that's perhaps a bigger monster than us. This is not the time to think about doing the right thing. It's the time for choosing the safest choice. To protect our families, our homes, our town." He locked his eyes in Liz's. "And that's the only choice we have if you come to think about it."

"Besides," Logan Fell put his arms together. "You all witnessed what he did to the Lebonnairs. It's not like he doesn't deserve it." He gave each one of the members a quick glance. "I'm with Mayor Lockwood on this."

"But what about the bodies?" Kelly Donavan asked impatiently. "We have nothing to frame on! We never found them."

"Grayson's a doctor," Logan turned his attention to Grayson. "Stealing two unidentified bodies from the morgue seems like an easy job and the post mortem reports could be altered, can't it Mrs. Gilbert?" He gave Miranda a crooked smile. "The rest could be left to us. Bill could plant the evidence while... Giuseppe fixed the bodies in his fashion. Sheriff could play along with the Mayors and me giving dramatic interviews to the press." He turned to face Kelly, who was the reporter of Mystic Falls, who unfortunately happens to be one of the founding families.

"Also," Rudy Bennet clasped his palms together, moving forward in his chair. "He is injured."

"Man gunned down," Richard said proudly. "After he killed his wife and her lover and attemp murder of other citizens present at the scene."

"That'll be the headline." Logan smirked.

"You all must be one brick short of a full load!" Liz yelled.

"Liz," Carol placed a hand on Liz's shoulder. "You need to calm down — "

"Grayson," Mayor Lockwood talked. "You know your job. Do this for the sakes of your children. If we don't put away this monster, we are all doomed."

After a while of thinking, Grayson Gilbert finally nodded.

"It is the only way," Mayor Lockwood gave all a convincing look. "You know I'm right."

In spite of the whirling distress that stormed within them, they believed he was right about concealing the truth, no matter the cost. It had to be withheld even though the solution was very unjust. That was the night a wselfish decision was made by the Council, whilst being completely unaware of the fact that they were provoking an indubitable catastrophe that would imperil their lives.

They were nothing but fools to think that this was indeed the end of a terrifying chapter that they'd never again have to encounter, when it had been the beginning of their demise all along.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia.**  
 **2016, Summer.**

It was seven, in the morning when the alarm went off drilling through Caroline Forbes' skull, who was in a dreamless sleep. She growled in annoyance as she rolled over the pillow covering her ear to stop the awful sound as if it would deafen her. To make it worse, the sunlight beamed through the window right into her face and the golden curls. Why on Earth did I set up the alarm clock for this early? She asked herself.

She was finally up and reached out to turn off the alarm clock. It was then, her phone rang. Without checking who it was, she quickly picked up.

"Caroline Forbes!" Her eyes went wide in response to the loud shriek of her name. If she wasn't awake before, she was sure the voice did it. It was a rather spirited shriek than a vexed one and then the huge wrecking ball banged on her head, making her gather everything at once. She also heard the background clatters, which was not quiet necessary to make her grasp what today was.

"Oh, my god!" She countered in a hoarse voice. Elena Gilbert understood that Caroline had been slumbering this entire time. It seems someone is behind the schedule, Elena cackled to herself.

"No." Elena retorted. As hard as it was to consider this, it was the truth. Caroline had overslept on this very important day.

She had gone through discussing this day with Elena and Bonnie, also The Salvatores, Matt and her boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood a million times and everyone was almost getting a little maddened by that. But she was Caroline Forbes for calling out loud. Miss Mystic Falls. The one who was seamless at doing what she does yet, the second best. She never grumbled about it though. She's perfect at hiding her feelings. But really? What is she not perfect at?

"Oh no!" Without waiting for a riposte, she hung up the phone and threw her blanket to the other side and was gone before anyone could have blinked.

"She's up!" Elena announced to everyone while letting go of a balloon. It landed on the ground and sprang quite a few times before Stefan Salvatore's boot became the barrier. He sneered at her and mimed, 'I love you'. She laughed and shook her head. They had being going out since high school and now they were engaged. Elena's ring sparkled in the sun as she worked on with the balloons.

Elena was a popular novelist. She has already written seventeen stories and every one of her stories were better than her previous work. She was certain her parents would be gratified of her success. It was not only her parents who pushed her towards that field. It was her friends and mostly Caroline due to Elena's great language skills.

Stefan was doing medicine in Whitmore College. He had always wanted to be a doctor and was very hardworking. But he made sure he had time for Elena, the love of his life, even though Elena did comprehend that the route to becoming a doctor is a very challenging one indeed and she doesn't want to add pressure to it. He loved her even more for this, but he never made her feel lonely or left out of his life.

He would always visit her whenever it was a break. This summer break, he had the best surprise planned for his girlfriend. Although, the magical night could not have been so miraculous if it weren't for Caroline who ornamented the place and made Stefan go through literal hell to guarantee that he wouldn't mess up his proposal acts. Of course, she didn't ask the exact words since it was up to Stefan to say it and only Elena warranted to hear them, but she did give a lot of instructions on what to wear, how to hold her hand, how to walk, not to mention she even picked up the piece of blind folding clothe!  
She just wanted Elena to have a perfect night!

Caroline Forbes would do just about anything for those who she loves.

"Wait - what? You mean Caroline was asleep?" Bonnie Bennett asked as she passed the streamers and glitter gun to Matt. Matt carefully put the blue layers side by side in a decorative pattern, the same exact way Caroline had asked him to. Then he carefully sprayed the glitter over them.  
Bonnie Bennett was an air hostess - one that she didn't really plan of becoming at first. But circumstances led towards it and that's when she apprehended this was the best profession for her. She formerly wanted to be a cook but no matter how hard one tries, something's are just not meant to be.

She loves her job. She particularly loved the idea of being able to travel to different countries and sometimes getting to spend a day or two there. In fact, she had a long flight tomorrow morning, one leading to Poland and then travelling from Poland to New Orleans. She was supposed to stay in New Orleans for about two days and then return back to Mystic Falls – her home. She had to get a goodnight sleep tonight or she'll be exhausted tomorrow. She was lucky that even though Mystic Walls was a small town, it still had an airport!

"The Caroline Forbes? You're talking about-" she sneered. "-our best friend, the very neurotic inhumanely systematized perfect at everything she does, Caroline Forbes, right?"

Because Caroline was never late. For anything. She was the one who organized all the school activities, the dances and not to mention the prom - yes the prom. One of her exquisite work to which most of the teachers praised her and pointed out that they have never even witnessed a prom as splendid as that. She was amazed that everyone had a good time.

"Yes Bonnie," Elena babbled, pumping air into a blue balloon with a hint of silver. Caroline's work of art, but needless to say. Elena reminisced the high school moments for a bit. How they have been friends since childhood. How they did almost everything together. The traditional fabulous sleepovers they all had each weekend, at each one's house. Always the four of them. This made her think about her twin sister Katherine who ran away at the age of 18, right after their parent's tragic accident that happened the night they all graduated from High School. After Katherine left Mystic Falls, it was harder for Elena and Jeremy to get through everything.

Although they have never seen each other face to face for almost a decade now, they do text each other almost every day. But Elena can sense the space between them. She knew Katherine was hiding something – something she would rather keep veiled. She was always good at that.

Katherine was a well-known fashion designer. She didn't have the nerve to face her siblings, out of fear of being loathed and so, she had made Paris her home.

Damon handpicked two paint buckets and walked across to colour the other side of the small garden." Blondie overslept after giving us all a piece of her mind to not mess this up!?" he exclaimed. He began colouring the cardboard with the brushes. He sneered. "I guess she's finally transitioning into a human, huh?" he smirked back for reassurances and was shot with glares and head shakes.

"Seriously, I don't know what Lockwood sees in her," he muttered as Tyler walked pass him. Tyler shrugged.

"But, if you hurt her in anyway, you'll have a piece of my mind!" he said to Tyler who just raised his eyebrows at him. Tyler knew he meant it. But he didn't care. He was the Mayor's son. Who could possibly touch him?

Damon and Stefan moved to Mystic Falls a couple of years ago, after their Mother's death. Stefan was only seven when it happened. Damon has been looking out for his brother and has been nothing less than a father to him making sure he got the proper education and everything else that he needed, because, their father had failed to do so. Their parents had left a lot of money for both of them, enough for a life time. Damon often illuminates an image of himself as selfish. But he was the exact opposite. He would do anything for those who he loves..

Damon and Stefan's father, Giuseppe Salvatore was legendary around the world. He was a self-raised tycoon who was well known for manipulating people. He was so influential and powerful that no one could have stopped him. Rumor has it that he even killed for sport. Everyone feared him. Until he passed away of lung cancer, just recently, he had been a member of the town council.

Damon had freshly joined the Council of Mystic Falls and has been working with the Sherriff, Caroline's mother for over a year through which their relationship has developed into a Mother-Son relationship.

Damon, being the eldest, in what they implied as 'the gang', looked out for everyone and is always over protective of everyone in the group thus earning the respect and love of the Mayor and Sherriff. In the couple of years he's been in Mystic Falls, he had made sure no harm could touch the people he cared about. His only regret was not being able to stop Katherine from running away. The girl he has been in love and is still.

He braced Elena and Jeremy through the time when they lost their parents and visited Katherine in the hospital, who completely altered right after the accident. He wanted to be there for her every day, but something told him that it's not what she wanted. Why else would she run away, after he vowed to be there for her, no matter what? He did feel a little imprudent for saying the words that came out of his mouth that day.

"I'm here!" She called out with a big grin on her face. Her blond curls were just as perfect as it could have been, bouncing a little bit as she made her way to everyone. She was striking even without any makeup on. Everyone looked at her and smiled. For some unknown reason, all of them just loved her despite her being her. Caroline looked around at everyone. Things are so different now. She remembers the days in high school how they were so reckless and it was only Caroline who had a tiny bit of seriousness within them. And maybe, just maybe, that's why she got everything that she wanted.

Caroline is now a local journalist, and everyone in Mystic Falls adored her, treating her like a celebrity. Not that it was something new to Caroline Forbes - she was the head cheerleader and the head event organizer in High School. Even then everyone wanted to be her friend. She did everything so dreamily that she was every individual's role model.

She also owns a library, herself. This was a _side dream_ of her as she so lyrically put it. It's located about two blocks away from the Grill, their official hangout place since High School. When Caroline was not working, she would spend time with her friends in the Grill and like a routine she would never miss to visit her own library every day at 9 o' clock. She spent time their reading different stories and doing some research about different topics.

"Yay!" Bonnie was delighted. Kind of.

"Hey, Care." Tyler greeted with a smile and a soft kiss on her lips.

"Morning, Caroline." Stefan said. He was clasping Elena from behind.

"Someone was in a deep slumber." Elena ridiculed.

"Well, honestly, Care, I thought you ran away with some guy leaving Ty behind." Matt made a joke.

"I'm not running away," She defended herself. "At least not today."

"It's Caroline. She'll spend weeks planning her run away and make us go through it a couple hundred times before she actually makes a move." Bonnie chuckled.

"That is so – weird. But it's true. I'm – " she was interrupted by a rather bothersome Damon.

"Slept well?" He smirked as he let down the brush and walked towards her.

"Shut up, Damon." Caroline snapped back.

He loomed towards her, put his right hand over her shoulder, kissed her head and said,  
"Come on, Barbie," He smirked. "You should be happy. You trained these kids so well during high school; I think they are getting the hang of 'How Caroline Forbes would do it' thing in your absence."

She quivered her head. "Okay, I overslept." She lastly confessed her palms pressed together lightly, right above her chest, accepting her defeat. She had an embarrassed look on her face.

"I'm done with -" he pointed to the cardboards that he just finished colouring in blue. "Whatever the hell that is…"

"Oh! It's perfect!" She hopped up. The cardboards were so appealing. She couldn't believe Damon pulled it off - but like every time, he did not cease to amaze her. The cardboards were supposed to cover the walls of Caroline's house, temporarily.

She kissed Damon on the cheek and muttered, "Thank you!"

"Sure." He replied, his hand still around her shoulders.

Then she suddenly remembered her mother, Liz. She could be here any minute!

"Damon, my Mom-"

"All taken care of Carebear. She won't be home until 7."

"What did you do?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Well..."

"I'll take that as a yes." He sneered at her, sarcastically. "You've nothing to worry about."

A faint smile grew on her face while looking at everyone from a close distance. Stefan gave Elena a slow kiss. They both looked at each other and laughed before focusing on the balloons.

Matt and Bonnie took care of the other decorations, hanging streamers inside the house, while Tyler and Jeremy Gilbert worked on a little dog house. She knew her Mother liked Dogs and she was going to get it for her. It arrives in two days. But for now, she was going to give her the dog house. The best birthday present ever, from all of them.

Her eyes were glowing in the sun and she had a gratifying look in them. Her golden hair was tenderly swaying to the serene rhythm of the air. She was happy.

She was very close to her mother. Even though she was always busy working, she made sure to spend enough time with her daughter. She was all Liz had. After the divorce 14 years ago, she was partly broken. But she was keen on hiding the broken pieces from Caroline and secretly put them together until it healed itself and suddenly before she even realized, it did not hurt so much anymore. They were more alike than they knew.

One by one came to her and stood beside her, looking at the decorations they had worked so hard on. It was... Caroline did not know the right words to describe what she was seeing, but she knew it was faultlessly spectacular.

"This is it," she whispered. "My Mom's 53rd birthday..."

"Yup! And it's already perfect!" Elena murmured silently, but enough for everyone to have heard it.

"Your Mom will love it," Bonnie hugged her best friend from a side..

She just simply smiled.

* * *

 **New Orleans,  
2016, Summer.**

Half past three in the evening and he was nervously walking back and forth in front of the main gate of the Mikaelson mansion. He straightened his grey Henley shirt with a slight pull from either side of it. He wore a set of dark necklaces around his neck.

He could have waited for them to return, have a nice cup of tea and read a book or two, or perhaps even watched the news. Maybe even go through the plan once again to make sure he had it all mapped out in his head to wipe out any doubts of mistake being made.

The guards were heavily armed, ready for an attack if necessary. They could sense how worried their boss was, but knew better than to question it or offer some reassuring words. He was the one with the temper; the one who they knew had no humanity in him. He didn't care about anything or anyone who was not family. With good reasons, reasons they didn't know. Reasons he and his family had buried within them, concealing them from the real world.

His life was not normal. It could never be. Not after the terrifying things he had to endure all those years which still feels like yesterday. He never really overcame it. He had believed long ago that, those reasons are what made them what they are today, Billionaires. Yes, the famous Mikaelsons who had millions of branches all over the world, the Mikaelsons, the worldwide conglomerate. So powerful that no one dared to cross them. Anymore. Not again.

The name was no secret to the world. Even the children knew about them, wanted to be like them. Little did they know how broken each Mikaelson was. If they knew, they'd run away.

When he was only but a child, their father found about their mother Esther's affair with another man which resulted in him. Since then, he did nothing but came up with different ways to torture the little boy. Even before Mikael discerned the matter, he never truly loved Klaus.

The Mikaelson siblings wanted to make it stop. But Mikael was more powerful than he looked. He would beat little Niklaus with a whip until he was bloody and lost consciousness. But Klaus would not scream. He would not give a monster the satisfaction of his scream. He would not scream to let everyone else who watched shatter into pieces. It was he who whispered to the ears of Finn and Elijah that everything's going to be just fine. It was Klaus himself who would hug Kol and give him a smile trying to convince him otherwise, when he would worry after the beatings. It was Klaus who'd wiped the tears off of her little sister, Rebekah's cheeks every day after his whipping. Henrik was just too young to understand any of it, giving a horrific look to Klaus. Even then, he smiled through it, not wanting his family to worry about him. But how could they not?

Esther was too ashamed of not being able to stop the unreasonable treatment her son was receiving; she had almost completely shut Klaus out of her life. She tried to make it right. But she loved him. A lot. And so did Klaus.

… and in those moments, when Klaus would endure the beating whilst he ignored all his instincts telling him to scream – to let it out, Esther realized how wrong Mikael was. Her son was not weak. He was brave. Brave and strong like a wolf with its pack. She was never able to say it to him, she could not stop sobbing.

Klaus stopped walking for a second and closed his eyes.

He was startled by the loud honks. Before the car stopped, the front door opened and a girl with long blond hair stepped out and ran joyfully towards Klaus with open arms. She was wearing long black jeans with matching pair of boots and a dark navy blue shirt with a black girly leather jacket. Her long necklace danced to her running as she made her way quickly to Klaus.

"Nik!" She yelled. "Niiiiik!" She laughed harder as she went right into his arms forcefully. She landed hard into his firm body, merely shaking him up and not pushing him back even a little.

His smile was handsome. A little hint of devil in both his eyes, but it also had a ray of light somewhere deep down hidden, it is as if he had forgotten he had it.

"Little sister!" He exclaimed. "I assume by this, you are perfectly fine and not to mention rather calmed." He pulled her away gently to see her pretty smiling face. "Is there a reason for that?"

"I can assure you I'm better than fine," she looked over her shoulder and cocked her head. "Now that I'm here. With my family. I never wanted to go there in the first place - but you wouldn't listen to my pleas." she playfully shrugged her brother annoyed when she got a laughter in return.

Elijah and Kol walked up to them.

"Well, now that you mention it, 'Bekah, we had to make sure you were away when we furnished our home," Kol rolled his hand over Rebekah's shoulder playfully. "You know just in case you throw your temper tantrums at the beautifully organized furniture and pottery work - of course - Nik's dull work of art."

Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Enough Kol," Elijah warned. "Your sister had a long flight - let her rest until dinner. We have more to discuss." he gave Klaus a nod and Klaus smiled in return and patted his shoulder motioning to come inside.

"What about me? I flew across the country to make sure our dearest Bekah got home safely - not concerned about that now are we?" Kol complained.

"Kol, when you are done being mischievous and only then, do contemplate about getting inside." Elijah lastly said before he walked inside the opened gates towards the white Mansion with a huge water fountain in front of it.

Kol growled. "He's still as boring as he were — when you left Bekah."

Rebekah turned to face her brother. "And you are as obnoxiously annoying as I remembered, Kol. Surely we have to do something about the two of you, what do you think Nik?"

"I say we leave them be. Let's get inside, shall we? Henrik has already asked about you, twice." Klaus requested.

"He did?" Rebekah asked as she and Kol followed Klaus to their 'home'. 

* * *

"Liz? Where are you?" He called Liz just 15 minutes before seven. It was a short day, they couldn't have imagined how fast the day went and yet everything was ready and perfect.

All of them were dressed in different shades of blue. The house too was covered in different types of blues and the cardboard sceneries that Damon so proudly made was temporarily glued to the walls and to the ceiling. While balloons were scattered all across the living room flooding the dining room as well, which was filled with delicious looking food - all her favourite.

And at the side of the kitchen, just next to the fridge, was a beautiful cake with unlit candles.

"Bonnie, get ready to light the candles as soon as you get word of Damon, okay?" Caroline asked her before she walked out of the dining room.

"Mrs. Lockwood, please have a seat. My Mom will be here any minute now and thanks for the help-"

"Caroline, darling. No problem with that. Besides, we are almost family now." Carol ran a hand through Caroline's hair. How she adored her. She has loved her like her own daughter since the day she was born.  
They both walked out of the kitchen chattering.

Stefan was almost about to take some fries from the table when he was startled by a voice – Caroline's voice.

"And Stefan!? Do not peck at the food at least until the party begins!"

He was shocked.

"How did you -" he started asking and turned around to Bonnie who was next to the fridge. She scoffed.  
"How did she know?" he asked curiously.

Bonnie shrugged. "It's Caroline. She has heightened senses. It's like – supernatural abilities."

Both of them laughed.

"Liz is on her way. She just passed the grill. She must be here any minute," Damon informed everyone.

He sat next to Elena and sighed.

"So, you're marrying my little brother huh?" Damon asked with a devil grin on his face.

"Yup. Here to give me the 'if you hurt my little brother, I'll hunt you down and kill you' speech?" Elena asked, shifting to face him.

"Wh- what are you talking about?" There was a funny look in his blue eyes, and the crinkling of the forehead between the eyes. "I'm here to tell you if you don't make my brother's life miserable for eternity, I'll hunt you down and then kill you."

Elena shook his head and idyllically laughed at his sarcastic comment.

"You're a good brother, you know?" She have him a little push on his shoulder and he smiled.

"I'm the evil brother, Elena, come on! Give me some credit." He got up and walked into the kitchen after patting Elena's head.

"So, Bon-Bon? On light-the-candles duty, huh? Better not burn down the damn house or you'll have a very angry Blondie to answer to."

"Thanks, nut." she rolled her eyes before smiling at him.

Damon grabbed his brother by the neck and pushed Stefan closer to him, childishly.  
"Damon –" he almost choked on his drink.

"So, you're getting married before your 28 year old brother!? Have you any shame?"

"Wouldn't have happened if you'd expressed your feelings earlier to the other twin."

"You mean the evil one?"

"Yup."

"Hmm." He took the drink from Stefan's hand and drank it himself. He the handed it over and straightened his shirt.

"Feel better?"

Before Damon could answer, they all heard a car pulling up in front of the house and bolted to do what was necessary.

As soon as Liz walked through the door and turned the lights on, everyone yelped, "Surprise!"

She was truly astounded and her mouth curled up into an 'o' shape. 

* * *

The Mikaelsons were all gathered, expressing their togetherness as they all sat and had dinner, like a normal happy family.

But it is only they, who know what they've been through. They have been through hell. And not only Niklaus, every single member of the family endured a certain torture, everyone had a different story.

"So, I arrive, not twenty-four hours ago and I'm dumped with a load of crap about taking someone's life," Rebekah pointed out which seemed like a complain. "Great! What's my part in it?" but instead she was excited.

"We are leaving you out of this sister, for understandable reasons," Elijah explained. Their dear sister just arrived from Switzerland, after completing her studies and finally fulfilling her dreams as a child – to become an architecture.

At the age of 18, Rebekah was sent to Switzerland for further studies. She did whine about it but also knew why she had to do it. They had to blend in and create a good image. They had to disguise their true nature from the world and pretend like their childhood was not horrifyingly dreadful. They had to beam through it and spread a tale, plausible to others until they nearly started falling for their own lies.

"But I want to, Elijah. This is the first not-so-boring thing I'll be doing in a very long time," she said in her defense.

"For you _killing people_ is not-so-boring? And I thought I was the evil one here." Kol looked at Rebekah before taking a bite of his salad.  
He was the Mikaelson playboy, different woman every day. Kol was the Mikaelson photographer. He's mostly booked. He usually takes pictures for celebrity wedding, or even most importantly for models - his favourite. That's how he meets his women. His personal rule is - no commitment, no strings attached.

"I didn't say I wanted to kill someone -" Rebekah put down her folk on her table as she spoke to persuade his older brothers.

"And I don't recall mentioning about a certain death," Elijah said, in his calm tone.

"Unless we have to," Klaus implied smug-smiling. "It could be the only way –"

"No bloodshed." Elijah warned. "That was all I –"

"Come on, Elijah. Isn't that what they deserve? I would love to have some fun. Now, you're not going to act all noble with me, are you –" Klaus was interrupted.

"Brother, what _you_ don't comprehend is... the reason we are compelled towards making such outrageous decisions is bloodshed itself. I can't see how it becoming the solution to it." Elijah was serious.

"Oh yes!" Kol yelped. "You can't fight fire with fire - is that the saying? I don't know - I'm never really good at sayings," he was ignored.

"Kol," Rebekah kept her fork, and showed him her doe eyes. "Please take me with you on this. I'll watch and learn."

"Bekah - I'm going to New York tonight - in fact I have to leave in 30 minutes. Nik's carrying it out. Besides, I've done my part in it, haven't I Nik?" Kol winked at Klaus.

Rebekah shrugged in annoyance. She really wanted some violence right now. Of course, she has been taking classes all through those years she spent in Switzerland, how to fight like a pro, how to defend herself. Her older brothers did too. But of course, they trained themselves harder.

"Rebekah - listen to your big brother! Let this one pass. This is the first official move we are making - " Klaus was interrupted.

"But I'm not going to ruin it -"

"It's easier to work alone - I can't concentrate on what I am supposed to do if I am too busy protecting you," Klaus tried hard to convince her. "Do we understand each other?"

Rebekah stared at Klaus giving him a stubborn look. Then she finally murmured. "Fine. So what's the actual plan?"

"Well, I suppose, I'm expected by our _guest_. I don't know _much_ about her, but from what Elijah gathered, after work, she usually spends time with her crowd in some pathetic diner, was it? Then she walks home. But of course, I shouldn't expect her to do the same exact tonight, now should I? I think her address is written there somewhere, it's a small town, will be easy to find her if not find somebody who could find her…." He explained.

"That's it?" Rebekah asked, full of questions.

"Nah, of course not. That's just the easy part." Klaus took a sip of his wine.

"I suggest you check out her file - Have you seen it even once?" Elijah asked.

"Frankly speaking brother, you described her to me. Blonde hair, blue eyes –"

"Go through the file. It's on the desk in the study."

"I will. And I won't jeopardize this. You have my word."

"So, when are you leaving for the airport? And where are you even going?" Rebekah asked.

Klaus checked is watched and smiled. "In two hours." He then gave every one a look. "To Mystic Falls. Where it all began."

After dinner Klaus went to the study. The black file was where Elijah said it would be. He seated himself on the big leather chair and smiled to himself.

"You'll be avenged..." he whispered, looking at two photographs on his desk.

He then opened the file. The truth was, Klaus had been going through the file, and he knew every word in the paper. But what took him surprised was the picture of the girl. She was truly beautiful, with blonde wavy hair that went beneath her shoulders. Eyes, very blue and tender. She was tall and slim and the dress she wore lightened out how beautiful she must be under it. Her smile was indescribable. This 26 year old, small town lady was able to bring him into a trance every time he looked at her picture. Sure he has seen amazingly pretty ones but... She wasn't like that. Unknowingly, he ran his fingers on the picture.

He read through the file and made sure to look back at her picture every now and then.

God, he thought sadly. Too bad for her though... Or not. He quickly closed the file, took a quick glance at his watch. 7:30 PM. Well, I better get going, he thought. As he began thinking about her, a smug smile appeared on his face.

"I'm on my way, Joshua," Klaus informed as he walked through the long fancy corridor.

"Um... Sir I thought you..." He stammered. Klaus knew something was wrong. Joshua was a pilot who operated one of the two private jets the Mikaelsons' owned. He has been working for them since the past six months - although Klaus doesn't trust anyone but family he sometimes liked this boy. He was well behaved and always listened. He also feared Klaus, perhaps that's the reason why he adored him a little.

However, Joshua never really made a mistake. He listened well, he would follow every command, he was never late and never messed things up. His stammer confused Klaus to the core of what was truly the matter.

"What's going on?" Klaus questioned. Rebekah was having a glass of scotch and trying to speak to Henrik whose attention was barely towards anything but the book he was reading.

Rebekah looked up from Henrik to see her brother's worried face.

"It's - I was told that - "

"What the bloody hell is the matter, chap!?" Klaus said a bit louder.

"I was told to fly to New York and we are already set and – and – "

"And who demanded so?"

There was a moment of silence before Joshua spoke again.

"Kol Mikaelson, sir."

Of course, Klaus thought. Kol had mentioned about flying to New York - something about a Models Photo-shoot that was one of the most expensive of all. He wouldn't miss it for the world. Like old times, he forgot to mention that he'd be taking their private jet. How on Earth will he ever get to Mystic Falls on time!?

"Let me speak with him?" He asked.

"Sure." Joshua said to Klaus. Klaus heard him requesting someone to hand the phone to Kol.

"Nik!" Kol yelped. "The delicacy on this one truly is a value-for-money!" Kol ran a finger on the blonde's lips. She giggled in return. "It's a shame you don't do –"

"What are you doing?" He asked, furiously.

Kol sighed. "Marilyn." Klaus heard a giggle yet again.

"Kol."

" Did I fail to mention that I have a photo-shoot in NYC? No wait, I did not. I am saddened by how less attention you pay to me."

"Oh, yeah, I did hear it. You just failed to mention you'll be on my jet - "

"Ours, brother. Wasn't it you who said what's yours are mine?"

"Kol, this is not a matter to mock about. You know – I am going to kill you for this." Klaus was boiling up inside.

"Aren't you on your way to do that already?" Kol asked.

"I could've been. But your childish behavior once again sabotaged the means to do so, and now, how the bloody hell do you expect me to get there!?"

Kol laughed on the other side, making Klaus angrier "Looks like someone is flying commercial." 

* * *

It was almost 10 and the party had ended thirty minutes ago since Liz had had a long tiresome day. All the guests drowned her with lots presents and well wishes. When Liz was finally asleep, Caroline joined her friends for to spend some quality time with them at the Grill.

Matt and Damon were called at the station to deal with a council problem – a fight between three high school students.

Elena and Stefan wanted to spend some time this summer before Stefan had to go back to Whitmore. They bid them goodnight and were gone.

So it was only Caroline and Bonnie - at the Grill in their personally always reserved table, eating French fries and onion rings.

"I have a flight at 9 in the morning." Bonnie informed Caroline.

"You know Bonnie, you're so lucky?" Caroline took three fries together in her mouth. "You get to travel around the world while the rest of us are stuck in this small little town."

"At least we love the town," Bonnie replied, taking a sip of her coke. She was not drinking tonight as she didn't want to deal with a hangover while she was on board.

"Yes we do!" Then Caroline realized, "Bonnie - if you have a flight shouldn't you resting and getting a goodnights sleep instead of hanging out with me?"

That was the plan Bonnie had. But since everyone was snatched away from Caroline tonight, she didn't know what else to do; she just couldn't let Caroline be alone. She felt guilty to let her ever be alone since Caroline was always there for her. Every single day, even throughout the whole 'Jeremy cheating on Bonnie with Anna' thing.

"It's okay; I can hang out with you for some time-"

"No, no." Caroline shook her head. "You're not sacrificing that for me. Go. I'll be fine. Besides, I'm planning to surprise Tyler tonight."

"Ooh. That sounds naughty," Bonnie joked.

"Trust me, it is," she nodded and they both laughed at their own joke.

Caroline forced Bonnie to go home then she headed towards the Lockwood mansion. Mrs. Lockwood would certainly not mind at all for dropping in a little late. She's going to marry Tyler soon, even though she is yet to receive a proposal. She was sure Tyler would be her husband. In fact, she has been for a long time now. She believed he was working on it.

As she stepped out of her car, she acknowledged they she was still wearing her party dress. It was a blue dress with a tiny sleeve and a decent neckline. The dress had a fancy pattern of drawings in silver and reached her ankles.

The house was unlocked, for her luck, and she wondered why Tyler never gave her a key in the first place. Inside, there were almost no lights, the living room was dark. She heard noises coming from Tyler's room as she made her way towards his room. The door was opened, just a crack, and Caroline could see Tyler moving like a cat on hot bricks. She sensed something was wrong.  
"This can't happen Hayley," He said.

He moved away, still tensed, holding his head with both hands. It was then, when Caroline finally saw her – the brunette. Her eyes fell directly to her swollen tummy, and that moment, that horrible moment, she felt despair roaring into her as the realization dawned. She needed no further justification of what was happening.

"Well guess what Ty, it has. I didn't know where to go." She moved closer towards Tyler. "My foster parents kicked me out three month ago and I had no one else to return to."

"Well, I can't be a – a – father!?"  
It was her boyfriend's child growing inside someone else.

"I don't want to be a mother either!" She yelled walking closer to Tyler. "But –"

"How about you take care of it!?"

"Gee, why do you think I am here?" She folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "Just so you could pour me some rich-people scotch from a pretty bottle so we could get drunk and have sex again!?"

Caroline's eyes were in tears. She covered her mouth with her hand and froze for a millisecond. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing. She wanted to run away - so far until the feelings of hopelessness and utter disgust went away. She wanted to run until she could just expunge what happened. But she didn't. The rage was building up inside her. She wiped her cheeks from the other side of her palms and barged in.

The room went mute for a second. "Caroline!? What - "

He just stared at her face. She was hurt and the broken look she was giving scared them both.

"I came to say goodnight, Tyler," she walked a little closer to him. "But I think the more appropriate thing would be to congratulate you." She turned around and started walking really fast but Tyler grabbed her hand and turned her around.

"Wait!"

"Don't touch me!" She jerked him off.

"I can explain."

"Actually, Tyler, from what I've gathered, I don't need an explanation." She tried really hard not to burst into tears. "So, when are you due, by the way?" She asked Hayley, who had guilty expression

"Look, I'll give you two a minute." Hayley's voice was a bare whisper.

"Thank you! How big of you," She glared at Tyler before she started to storm out. "Why don't you follow her, because, my work here is done!"

"No! Wait!" But she was already off the stairs. "Caroline, please! Let me -" the door slammed shut.

Klaus was a bit furious. Nothing had gone according to the plan. His jet was literally high jacked by his irritating little brother and he couldn't find _the guest_. She wasn't at her house when Klaus crawled into her room through the open window. She should not leave it open, he thought as he looked around. Even if it had been closed, Klaus could have easily gotten into her room without damaging so little as the lock. He was sort of glad she wasn't in her room: he had enough time to go through her stuff and witnessed a lot of them. Her smiling pictures, good times with her friends, different celebrations and the list could be endless.

His next stop was the library. No luck there either. So he decided to take a little break before he checked the rest of the town, making his way to the Grill for a drink.

"Scotch, please," he ordered. He was calmly enjoying his drink, drifted into her thoughts, when a lady in a blue dress slammed her hands on the table.

"Matt!" She was trying really hard not to shake her voice, Klaus understood it. "There you are." She sighed. He looked at her and couldn't believe it was her. Whom he had been searching for this entire time.

"Hey, Care. What's up? Where's Bonnie?" Matt asked, as she sat on the stool in between Klaus and Matt.

"She has a flight in the morning. I shooed her off to sleep." Caroline said, still hurt hidden in her voice. " - hey Luke Parker, my adorable friend! I need shots and keep 'em coming!" She informed, and Luke the bartender nodded with a smile.

Matt was looking at her, puzzled. Caroline usually never acted this way. Unless she was going through hell, and Matt knew it wouldn't be easy to get her to open up.

After four continues shots, Matt held her hand and asked her, "Hey, hey, Caroline. What is going on?"

"Right!" She said letting go off his hands and flying her own hands in the air. "I - uh - I have a surprise for you -" as she got off the stool, she dropped her purse.

"Shit." She cursed.

This made Klaus smile, at how cute she was acting. He couldn't help it, so he took a glance at her once again and concluded that the picture didn't do justice to her.

She picked it up digging through it and finally found out what she was looking for. Handing the piece of paper to Matt, "I have been asking my Mom to find out this for months and we finally have a lead on – uh – her. She gave this to me as soon as she came in and I didn't wanna bring it up in front of everyone."

Matt took the piece of paper from her hand and asked her, "What is this?"

"It's an address – " she tittered but then cleared her throat with a serious expression. "It's where your sister lives..."

"You found out... where Vicky lives?" He asked.

"Yes Matt. And you have to bring her home... Help her, don't give up on her. I know she's a little – stubborn and way pass the line but... She needs you. Don't make the same mistake your mother made on you two..." she smiled.

Matt had no words to say. He couldn't face himself right now. His sister Vicky was a drug addict. She ran away from home every now and then but this time, she never came back. It has been seven months and no one heard of her. Matt finally snapped and decided he'll live his life since he cannot do this anymore. He just couldn't. He abandoned her. However, tonight, a drunken Caroline made him realize how big of a coward he was. He was speechless.

Caroline had already drank the whole bottle and ordered for another.

Klaus smiled for himself again. He wanted to just pick her up and hug her for being so cute, pretty and caring.

"Thanks... and you know-"

"No Matt, I don't wanna hear it!" She covered her ears for a bit.

"No hear me out," Matt said a little loudly.

Caroline placed her hand on the table for a second and before Matt could start talking; the bottle was literally in her mouth.

Klaus pressed his lips together to stop from laughing out loud at her gulping voices.

"I just wanted to say thank you. You do a lot for all of us - you're selfless and caring and every other positive quality..." he scoffed and put a strand of her hair behind her ears. "It's sometimes... we are so into our lives that no one remembers to ask you how your day was and how you have been... for that I'm sorry."

Caroline burst out in laughter. "Oh!" She waved her right hand at Matt, while resting her head on the table. "I'm fine Matt! I am always fine!"

"No, you are not always fine, Care. And it's okay. You don't have to pretend you're okay all the time. I know that Tyler sometimes treats you badly – horribly – let's face it, he's a jerk. But you hide that in you and cry for yourself. You don't have to pretend like everything's okay so we won't worry about you. We owe it to you since it's you who's always concerned about our problems. I mean sure, if Damon finds out of the way Tyler sometimes treats you, he will kill Tyler but you don't have to hide it in you... Anyway, I know something happened between you and him otherwise you wouldn't have emptied all that," he said showing two bottles of tequila.

Klaus was listening to their every word. How could anyone possibly treat her unfairly? She was beautiful, caring, and obviously very selfless. She was perfect. But why would she even let someone treat her badly? Klaus was imagining how luxuriously he would treat her but as soon as he recognized what was going on in his mind he gave him a mental slap.

What the hell is your problem? Why am I thinking about her as if she's mine? Besides, she's a Forbes - I could never fall in love with - BLOODY HELL!? Love? I don't recall hitting my head before coming to Mystic Falls. He sighed and concentrated on their conversation.

"Okay," she said. "I will share. But not now. Now you need to see your sister and when I say now, I mean now."

"Care, I could find her tomorrow-"

"No!" She cried acting like a child. "Now, Matt. Please."

"What about you?" He asked. "And what happened?"

Klaus felt a bit uneasy and his temper started rising when Matt took Caroline's hand in his. He wanted to beat Matt to a pulp for even thinking about touching her. He wanted to break his hand and for a second, he imagined himself doing so in front of everyone.

There was a moment before she replied. "Ask me tomorrow."

After a lot of fighting about Matt wanting to drop her off, she still wouldn't agree. She wanted Matt to go get her sister. Caroline convinced Matt to go by agreeing to call Damon when she was done.

Klaus was sitting there, following her every move. He wanted to go talk to her, but he couldn't. He was a bit nervous at this but slapped himself yet again. But then he remembered, he had never been romantically involved with anyone and he was incapable of it. The only relationship he ever had was with a girl named Tatia, but he was never serious with her. He just went with it, the constant on again off again relationship that was dragged for 5 whole years. He ended the relationship one year ago, completely. And ever since then, he hasn't been with a woman.

He scolded himself for being imprudent about this, to think of her as a girl. He repeatedly told himself to stop with the lame thoughts and ridiculed for even letting such cross his mind.

But all he could think of her was how much he wanted to look at her.

He was brought back by Caroline, when she stood from her stool and started walking towards the door murmuring something to herself. She could barely stand. Klaus threw some bills, a lot more than what he must have purchased and ran after Caroline like a lost puppy.

As she reached to the door, she slipped, but Klaus held her. She did let out a soft scream, "Oh!"

"Careful there, love," she heard a dreamy British accent and he was dreamier than his voice.

"So handsome!" She shrieked. Klaus looked around, and fortunately the road was dead. He smiled at her comment.

"Am I dreaming? Because I don't -" she was about to fall again, but Klaus got a hold of her. He kept his hands wrapped around her waist firmly, and Caroline had gripped his jacket. She giggled. "Because I don't think that - that - such handsomeness exists in this world."

Klaus laughed out loud. "Well, you too are ravishing, Sweetheart. I say let us-"

"Then we should be a match made in heaven!" She smiled and laid on his chest lightly.

Klaus had a rush of feelings going through him. Things he never felt, things he didn't know he or anyone else could feel. He stroked her hair a little bit before she completely passed out on his chest. A smug smile grew on his face as he picked her up in bridal style, carrying her towards a parked car. Klaus carefully put her in the seat and took a moment to look at her sleeping so soundly.

"Well, this was easier than we all thought, now wasn't it, love?" He smiled to himself at his victory.

He got into the car and drove away.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2  
** 'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
- _Taylor Swift_

* * *

Well, at least she came to me, Klaus thought amusingly as he drove across the road. He wondered if he should have brought one of Caroline's sweaters, back from her home, as she might need to change from her party dress which did not hide as much as Klaus wanted her to. He thought to make her wear his jacket if they were to get out of the car.

Klaus that the best way to get this done is to choose the road instead of an airplane. He knew better than to choose the path leaving anyone to find their way straight to him.

He looked at Caroline, who was calmly asleep next to him, and Klaus couldn't find the exact words to describe the serene look on her face whilst the moonlight fell upon her golden hair as they drove. He smiled at her, or more like to himself. It wasn't the conceited smile he usually shot at people nor it was a devil in disguise smile; rather it was one that he gave no other.

The morning came all too soon. Caroline was awakened by the bright sunlight that directly fell upon her face. She growled a tiny bit and tried to turn around when she felt the bumpy road, waking her immediately. Looking around she wondered whether this was a dream. It was not.

The man in a grey Henley T-shirt had an evil grin on his face – his eyes were straight on the road. Even when Caroline was taken aback, she had to admit this man was really attractive.

Caroline scolded herself at that instant. She couldn't believe she was actually so taken by this hot man, while she must be in deep trouble. She had no idea what was going on or where she was going. For all she knew, this guy could be a thief! A murderer! A rapist or even some psycho who must have escaped a mental asylum! Or maybe, all four. But what would he want from her? A thousand questions spun in her head as she sat straight, giving him a blank look.

"Good, you're awake," he finally broke the silence. "I was starting to get bored."

His thick accent drove daggers towards her, not wanting to think about it she shook her head and stuck to the point.

It was him. The same man who helped her outside the Grill, she remembered. A little. And now that she did, he was not that attractive anymore. Rather he terrified her. She was afraid of him.

"Who the fuck are you!?" She asked, trying to look mad, trying to hide that she was actually very frightened.

"Sweetheart," he clasped. "Language, please."

"What – is going on!?" She looked around to make sure this was actually happening. She was on the road. With a wary stranger.

"Alright, love. Let me fill you in on how this is going to work. There're certain rules, needless to say." He smirked and continued. "Rule number one: You'll do exactly as I say, when I say it. But in case you defy me, I'll make sure your loved ones suffer," he said calmly. "Are we clear yet?"

It took her a while to understand what he was saying. She wanted more answers.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, failing to keep her voice steady.

"Well, if that's indeed the case," he arched an eyebrow at her. "Let's get to the point, shall we? You've been taken hostage, by me."

"What!?" She shrieked. She was no longer going to listen to this mad man. "I have had enough of this! Stop the car! I said stop the car! Pull over!"

"Come on love, did you not hear what I just said?" He smiled.

"Yes, I heard you the first time. Clearly, you forgot to mention that you're a seriously messed up psycho!" She talked. "Now. Stop. The. Damned. Car."

He laughed. "And if I don't?"

"If you don't I – "

"What could you possible do?" He arched an eyebrow again. Despite the way he looked when he did, it was starting to annoy Caroline more than she thought it would. He was starting to look dangerous. And he was. She just knew.

"I will make sure you spend most of your life in a rotting cell."

"Ooh, confident. I like it."

"Shut up!" She yelled. Klaus knew he had only one way to shut her up. "Get me out of this car you son of a bitch!"

"Now, love, is that any way to treat me? Perhaps, I was not clear when I said I'll make your loved ones suffer." he reached out to his pocket and took out his phone.

She took it from him.

When she saw Elena and Stefan cuddling in Elena's couch, watching a movie, she was thunderstruck. Then Stefan got out of the couch and reached out to the empty glasses, walking towards the fridge. A moment later, he came back and placed the drinks on the table and returned to his previous position, kissing Elena on the cheek.

"Adorable couple, I must say." He chuckled.  
Caroline had no idea what was going on.  
Every instinct in her body screamed as it entered her consciousness. He was no ordinary criminal. A nefarious one. It was almost he had it all prepared from the very beginning. And he did.

"Wh - how did you - what - who are you!?" She was fully alert. "Pull over! Now!"

"I assume you're very confused - and you're allowed to be, I can understand." He nodded playfully. "I'll let you on about what this is all about – but right now," he moved a little closer to her and whispered making her back off a little bit, "I need you to stop telling me what to do. Do you follow, Sweetheart?"

"Where are you taking me? Why are you doing this? What do you want? I don't - I don't understand - what's going on..."

Caroline asked her eyes filled with tears, shaking her head still baffled why she was being dragged into this. He wanted to tell her that he had no intentions of hurting her. But he could not say those now could he? He was supposed to be ruthless, not have indescribable feelings progressing for some girl he recently met. He liked him that way. It sent an eerie chill. But he put his 'thoughts' aside, closed his eyes and exhaled.

"You do ask a whole lot of questions. So let the rule number two be – no more questions."

Her eyes widened. She wanted to scream. She knew she has been trapped. This man has kidnapped her. While she was in her home – Mystic Falls, where nothing bad ever happened, ever.

He was either going to ask for ransom and she knew he wouldn't settle for a few numbers. It was also crystal clear that her mother could not pay the amount he would demand. Hence, she'll receive help from everyone and she will not have that. She wouldn't let anyone suffer because of her. When this man asks to call her mother, she was will refuse straight. But what happens then? He'll beat her up? Torture her? Starve her? Rape her? Force her to be a sex slave? Or worse, end her. She knew that would be her fate. However, she would rather kill herself than let him do anything to her. All the reeling thoughts were making her panicky. She knew she had only one way out. She closed herself and tried to calm down, it's okay Caroline. She told herself. It will be okay. You'll feel a little pain, here and there, but it will be nothing compared to the pain he'll inflict on you if you stuck in this car and let him take you wherever he wants to. And after a while, you won't feel anything, it will be quiet and it will be peaceful.

It will be her end.

Then she realized she won't be seeing her Mother anymore. Her wonderful smile, her soothing words whenever she was sad... She won't get to have a last hug, or even say goodbye to her. But her Mom will live a happy life, right? And Caroline has had a blissful one herself... She tried to convince herself.

What about her friends? Caroline was supposed help plan for Elena and Stefan's wedding. What about Katherine? She hasn't really seen her for nine years! Bonnie was supposed to bear three kids and Caroline was going to be one of their god mothers! And they were all planning to take a trip to Seychelles Island, with all of their kids and it was supposed to be magical. She missed Damon's overprotective tendencies right now, and caught herself wishing if he were here he might beat this dude to a pulp while Stefan would try and break them off. He's always soft. She missed having drinks with Matt.

They were all supposed to plan Caroline's June wedding together someday, and she was meant to marry the perfect boy, and have 2.5 kids. But Tyler's indiscretion flushed in immediately sickening her.

She will never see them again. Never. Part of her was glad she spent yesterday with everyone that mattered - everyone she loved.

Because she knew she was not going to be around anymore. And that scared her to the core.

Klaus caught a glimpse of smile on her pretty face.

"Are you hungry? Shall I get you something to eat?" Klaus asked, trying to hide his sincerity.

Caroline was in a deep thinking. She hadn't realized Klaus had asked her a question. He repeated the questions and she was startled.

"I thought you asked for quiet." She snapped.

"Yes, but we wouldn't want you to pass out of hunger, now would we? You did have quite a lot of drinks last night," he smiled. "Do you want anything?" He asked. But she didn't even flinch. She was barely listening. "Very well..."

Do it! She screamed inside her. Without thinking she suddenly unfastened the seat belt opening the door as quickly as it allowed her and jumped out of the seat.

"No!" Klaus growled. His heart sank.

She hit surprisingly hard, head first and rolled for several feet on the concrete ground causing her dress to somewhat rip along with some parts of her skin. Caroline laid there on the side of the road, tattered, and too dazed to pick herself up.

He quickly pulled the car aside and ran towards her only stopping when he reached her motionless body.

Her entire body ached from the brutal hit and she could feel the stinging in her opened cuts. She slightly moaned. This is it, she thought lying on her stomach, this is how I go... It will be like falling into a sleep and it won't pain so much anymore. He could do nothing to her now.

A soft whimper escaped her lips...

She would have suffered a severe concussion, a skull fracture, perhaps some bones might have been broken, and the thought of an internal damage sent an uneasy bit of shrill through Klaus's own body - or worse - he didn't want to think that, but it could kill her since she looked so fragile. His stomach churned and his knees were shaking whilst he bent over and turned her over. She had bruises all over her. A cut on her forehead and side of the lips, blood drooling from them. Her chest had a deep cut, right beneath her collar bones. A few more scrapes on her arms and knees, all looking awfully painful.

He pulled her arm out to check for pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when her eyelashes fluttered open tardily, revealing her blue eyes. He smiled down at her, euphoria filled within his compelling eyes, leaving her confused more than ever. He took her hand in his, placing it closer to his lips, his eyes slowly shutting. Caroline did not cease to see the amusement in his deep blue eyes - it was not the kind of alleviation she'd see in someone's eyes who'd want to keep her for gain or for his own selfish desire and benefit. It was something different - something Klaus himself has yet to discover.

Caroline tried to wipe away the memory of the ease she saw in Klaus, she tried convincing herself that she had envisioned it - but even in this state, she was as clear as crystals were, that it was indeed true, so how was she ever going to erase that?

Even so, he was relieved, if he were a gentle soul, why was she being dragged from her home and held against her will? If he were a good person, why had he threatened her friends in the most dangerous way? Why won't he let her go home? Why can't he just leave her?

Before she could answer all of the questions, Klaus lifted her up and carried her bridal style towards the car. She let out a slight wail, as he made her sit on the car, outside. Klaus tucked her hair behind her ears and pulled it behind her, very gently. He was taken aback when she pushed him away with her already bruised hands.

"Get away from me!" She cried out. "Just no! Go! Get away!"

"Just what were you thinking!? Leaping out of the car as it were something ingenious!?" His voice was harsh; Caroline could literally feel the anger in every word that escaped through those lips. She just sat there, massaging her shoulder, her eyes fit on him with rage.

Klaus did not wait for an answer, instead he moved closer to her, slammed his hands at either side of her legs, on the car, "What if something were to happen to you!?" His roar startled her a little. For a moment, she wondered why he was so worried and angry.

Klaus did not wait for an answer, instead he moved closer to her, slammed his hands at either side of her legs, on the car, "What if something were to happen to you!?" His roar startled her a little. For a moment, she wondered why he was so worried and angry.

"I was counting on it," she said calmly.

"What was that?" He asked in the same tone as her.

"Oh, these bruises - " she said showing her arms, " - do they interfere in your plans to sell me to a landlord or some freaking rich guy who operates strip clubs and rely on human trafficking for survival? Will he reject me now? Does your client only settle for girls without any cuts? Or maybe your plan is to get a lot of money as ransom - but listen now and listen well! I don't come from a rich family! I did not shit in golden stools nor did I have diamond shoes. Not to mention, I never even wore branded clothes in my life because my Mom and I could not afford them! I had a normal life. There goes your other plan. So what now? You're going to torture me? Rape me, now that I am useless. Because you know if you let me go, I'll report you." she scoffed at last before breathing out, "So... Go head. Kill me. We both know that's how this is going to end anyway..." she shut her eyes.

Klaus didn't blink through the pointless talk. For a moment, before he broke the silence with his mocking laughter, the only sound was the rattling of the leaves for the damp air.

He turned away from her, laughed and laughed, leaving her to stare at him in confusion.

"So there is an evil laughter. I thought those were only in movies." She snapped.

He finally forced himself to stop mocking at her.

"Oh, sweetheart. No one's pulling the trigger. As amazing as those concepts of yours sounded, I don't intend to do any such." he arched an eyebrow at her. "Look, I promise I am not a serial killer or some lunatic hell bent on selling you off. And I'd never force myself on to you."

"Then why am I here!?"

"Well, that's a story for some other time. If it makes you feel any better, I don't need ransom. For now, you should know that..." he hesitated before he mumbled the words out. "I won't hurt you."

She scoffed. "Yeah. I'm sure that's what they all say."

"Obviously, we'll be late to our destination due to the outrageous stunt you pulled not long ago," he growled when he saw that his phone had died. "Now that we have to stop to see a doctor."

"Why!? You want to perform plastic surgery to hide these?" She said meaning to her bruises. "Or maybe infertile me so I wouldn't cause _trouble_. Because, seriously, there is no way you'd do that out of generosity."

He liked how fearless she was. Certainly, anyone would be terrified, waking up miles away from home in a stranger's car, not knowing what he could do, or where they are headed to. But she was not scared, or doing a real good job hiding the terror as she constantly fought.

"You sure do ramble a lot, don't you, Sweetheart?" He asked a little seriousness in his accent.

"Maybe you can ask the doctor to mute me." She turned her face away from him, trying hard to not bursting out in a cry. She ached everywhere. "And stop calling me pathetic names!" She snapped.

"Pathetic – ?" He scoffed again. "I thought it made me more of a gentleman."

"Yeah, sure. Because a gentleman would kidnap a drunk and helpless woman, driving a long way from her home while she wasn't even conscious and keep her hostage!"

"I don't see one."

"What?"

"A woman - you just said something about a woman being here. I don't see a woman here."

"E - Excuse me?" She just whispered and blinked.

He's impossible to talk to, she thought as he still gaze was at her confused expression. She was just insulted in the worst possible way ever. She was called neurotic, control freak, a little hyper at times but never this. He's just insane.

Caroline was never one to be full of herself. She always believed she wasn't as beautiful as Elena, Katherine and Bonnie. But she had no idea how beautiful she looked to the British accented guy with the most devilish grin on his face, that she wanted to wipe off at this instant.

She knew one thing, and that was even if she was not beautiful, she was not ugly and she certainly did look like a woman!

"And I'd never force myself on anyone," He simpered. "But say if I were, I'd definitely want her to be womanish."

"Serious... You know what? I - may not be the most beautiful woman to work on this earth, but I can confidently say that I'd pass out for being a woman!"

"Your chestal area says otherwise," he said in a song like tone and returning his self-righteous smile.

"My - my what!? Have you been looking at me all this time you pervert?"

"There really isn't anything to look at there,"

But obviously, he was joking. She was absolutely striking and tempting. Caroling had no idea.

Caroline sat there trying to search for words to say. She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. Nothing seemed reasonable to say right now. There were no right words at the moment. She, of all people, had no come backs. She grew furious and just shook her head.

"Don't be angry love," he said coming dangerously close to her. "At least you know you're not in that kind of danger. And if you want, which is very clear that you do, you're more than welcome to rape me."

He grinned at her when she scoffed. "I'm not even going to talk to you." "Good, because, I liked it a whole lot more when you were asleep. Honestly, your drivel about all this has triggered a bloody migraine." He said as he helped her off the car.

At first she tried to push him away but agreed to let him carry on when he gave her the look which clearly made her realize that, she was not up for a fight right now. And she knew she needed his help, no matter what her instincts screamed. She was in a turmoil of emotions, when the car started.

* * *

Henrik was in his room, so lost doing his homework when Rebekah came in with breakfast. As far as Rebekah remembered, Henrik never ate in the table. He preferred eating alone in his room.

He was very hardworking and like everyone else, he was a broken soul. He was only a year old, when his Mother and Father were ripped away from him. He never really talked to anyone at all. He listened well and was one of the top students in his school, making his family prouder than ever. Although, he was not satisfied yet. He knew the past he shared with his family and he knew his Mother, his brother Finn and a sister who he never met had to be avenged. Perhaps that was the reason he rarely would be seen without a book - other than the time he'd spend training himself with either of his brothers or a trainer.

"Henrik, I brought breakfast!" Rebekah tried sounding a little cheerful. But like she remembered, he did nothing other than take a quick glance at the tray in her hands. She placed the plate on the side of his table, unsure of what to say or do next. She loved her brother a lot, but at times, he made her feel like a total stranger which made it difficult for Rebekah. She did understand had a reason to act that way, a reason he had hidden deep within him, unable for anyone else to reach it.

"I brought some presents for you. Books."

He nodded.

"So, I was thinking... Maybe we could take a walk around the garden," she started. "When you finish doing your work."

For Henrik it was like as if no one was there. He simply kept turning the pages of his text book, and jotted down short notes on a pad. Even though it was summer vacation, Henrik took no break.

"Sure, 'Bekah." He muttered to Rebekah's surprise. "I'm- uh - I'm almost done. Just give me a while."

"Great!" She said, cheerfully again. "I'll be in the living room then. I've missed you so much.

"I missed you too 'Bekah." He replied, a little louder than usual. She ran a hand through Henrik's blonde hair. As she made her way through the door, towards the living room, her phone rang.

"Rebekah," Klaus talked.

"Nik! Finally! You had me worrying," she snapped.

"Morning to you too Rebekah." He said.

Must be his wife, she thought.

"So what is taking so long to come back? Getting rid of the body, yet?" She scoffed.

Caroline looked at Klaus in fear and anger, muttering, "Seriously!?" to which he shook his hand. The phone was on speaker, as Klaus sat in the armchair, a drink in his hand. They had stopped at the hospital earlier, and since the doctor had confirmed Caroline was alright, Klaus had taken her shopping. He got her new clothes – expensive ones, even though she still hated him and was totally not impressed. Klaus decided that she needed to rest a bit and change into cleaner clothes after taking a shower, concluding to stop at a hotel for the time being before hitting the road.

"You know, that was not quite the plan actually," he explained.

"Do you even have the girl, yet?"

"I do. I need - " Klaus slowly shut his eyes in defeat of being interrupted by his little sister.

"Where are you? Are you in Atlanta?"

"Not quite yet and there's been an alteration in the plan. We ran into rather unfortunate situations that are none of your concerns, actually. I called to ask you a favour in order to speed things up a bit," he went on. He was drinking a glass of wine, relaxing.

"I want you to play the kidnapper and inform the Sheriff of Mystic Falls that her lovely daughter has been kidnapped. Tell her to get William Forbes out of the hiding if she wishes to see her daughter alive."

Without waiting for Rebekah to response, he hung up the phone. "I didn't mean…"

"William Forbes… As in... As in..." she trailed off letting the thought sink in.

* * *

Liz was solving a case of theft, with the help of Damon when she received the phone call that rattled her skeletons. Matt was given a day off since he was visiting his sister, Vicky in Georgia. She had no idea what to do, but for one thing, she knew that the call was no prank. It was something to do with Bill Forbes, her ex-husband which was even more disturbing. She had a hint of what this was all about but brushed it aside trying to induce herself that after all those years, it couldn't be. Besides, it had nothing to do with Caroline, she was only a child. It was not only Bill's doing as well. Every member of the council was at fault. Beginning with Giuseppe Salvatore. He was the main antagonistic in this story; shouldn't it be Damon or Stefan in Caroline's shoes?

Even the Lockwoods played a huge role in this, so, why hadn't they taken Tyler? What about the Fell's who was merciless enough to propose the idea? Donavan's couldn't be less. Moreover, the Gilberts also played a huge role in it. Grayson changed the entire post mortem results, for the sake of this town, to protect Mystic Falls, a town where no one knew what violence was.

"Liz, calm down," Damon tried soothing her as she sat on the side of the table.

"We'll find her. She'll be fine. We can reach out to all of our contacts –" Damon was interrupted.

"We can't!" Liz yelled. "We can't get help... from anyone. The council will turn their back on this."

"Why not?" Damon asked suspiciously. "It's Caroline – they've to help."

"Look - I think I know what this is all about," Liz spoke, exchanging glances. "It's - it's just too complicated..."

"What are you talking about?" Damon was puzzled.

"You were all young when it happened. The council was restrained into making a very bad choice, long ago and I think our mistakes are finally catching up to me." She explained.

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked. Liz gave a guilty look to the man standing in front of her. She wasn't willing to fess up.

"Really? You're not gonna tell me?" Damon asked.

"I can't... Not now... Not - ever..." she trailed off. "Besides, they want Bill to surface and I haven't seen or talked to him in - about - 14 years! I'm not even sure whether he's dead or alive!"

* * *

Surrounded by glitter and glamour, Katherine was busily selecting outfits for the models getting ready for the Paris Fashion Week. She had agreed to help Pearl with her show, since Pearl had been getting a lot of negative reviews lately. And Katherine decided to help a friend out.

It was the biggest fashion show in Paris, the show everyone looked out to. Katherine was known as _the survivor_ since she have held numerous number of prosperous magnificent shows that everyone loved and envied at the same time. Her rivals were never a problem, because she didn't think it necessary to strike them down. Her competitors seem to bend over backwards to be better than her, but the determinant was futile. No one seemed to best her.

Pearl depended on Katherine about almost everything on this show; since the sparkle that surrounded Katherine would never lose its shine. She was in high demand – a lot of offers came to her for partnerships and why wouldn't it? She was the finest in her industry. However, she never accepted them.

She only decided to _help_ Pearl out, since Pearl had helped her too and had declined the offer for a partnership. She liked working alone.

Her phone wouldn't stop ringing and she wouldn't stop receiving texts. She gave a quick glance at the phone.

 **49 missed calls**  
 **75 messages**

She wondered what it could be. Excusing herself, she read all the messages. It was literally everyone back home except for Damon and Caroline and only one message caught her eye sending shivers through her body.

 **Elena** :  
Care's been kidnapped...  
Thought we should let you know.

Without even so much as a second of hesitation to stop and think about this situation, she hurried towards Pearl, who had a faint smile on her face as she commented on April Young who swung from side to side, wearing a silver gown with red sparkles in them.

"Change of plans, pancakes." Katherine said, picking up her iPad and bag from the couch behind a confused April. "I've to go... home." As she said the word, it felt peculiar. "Mystic Falls – home."

"WHAT!?" Pearl screamed, turning around and walking towards Katherine, who was looking down at her phone.

 **Katherine:**  
Heading back to MF.  
 **  
Elena:**  
What about work? :O  
 **  
Katherine:**  
Screw the bimbos. It's Care..  
 **  
Elena:**  
Not sure what to say Kat...  
 **  
Katherine:**  
See you soon, Lena. :)

"What the hell do you mean by you're going back to Mystic Falls!?" Pearl screamed. "KATHERINE!?"

"Huh?"

She looked up from her phone after sending the last text. Her heart sank as she thought about things. She hasn't seen her sister and brother in eight years and after a couple of hours, she's going to be standing in front of them. It felt uneasy, but she felt like she should be home after Caroline's recent development. Her heart was racing from both, the fact that Caroline was kidnapped and also because she'll be facing everyone she left behind, without giving them a reason. She also had to face... Damon.

"What?" She asked.

"You can't leave! Fashion week is in the corner! And - and I wouldn't know what to make them wear or do! And you still need to get me the diamond bracelet that belonged to the famous - " Pearl complained.

"Listen, Patootie. It's something I can't turn my back on..." she opened the door and said to April. "I'll send Daddy Pastor Young your best. Heard he's staying at his farm house."

"If you walk out, I'll be humiliated in front of everyone!" Pearl warned. "Katherine, please. This is my last chance - If screw this up, I am done!"

Katherine looked right into her eyes before stumbling the words out of her mouth, "Better you than I." She slammed the door behind her. Pearl's screams echoed, as Katherine wore her sunglasses and walked through the corridor, her bag hanging on her right hand.

* * *

Caroline didn't speak much. Even when Klaus ordered a lot of food, she wouldn't even consider eating. After spending two more hours in the room, they hit the road.

Although, during the time they spent at the hotel, Klaus had changed his mind about taking her to the warehouse in Atlanta. Only problem, was they were already in a hotel in Atlanta when his thoughts changed. About the plan, and about her. He knew Elijah and the rest of them will not welcome her to their home willingly, but he will make sure she feels welcome. He will take her to their home, his home. He feels home with her around, even with her relentless rambling. He feels at peace. She makes him forget the chaos he is yet to cause; he doesn't remember that he has people to suffer for their sins. He feels human; he feels... a fondness he has never felt earlier.

She was wondering what was going on, why this man wanted to see her father... She always wondered why her father never tried to contact her all these years. She never even got to say goodbye to him – he suddenly just vanished. If this man wanted her father, it means he's done something to him. It could either mean her father is the bad guy or the good guy. Or Bill must have found something against this guy and he wanted revenge on her father. Caroline decided to ask him.

Klaus was annoyingly eating a chocolate for himself, stubbornly not offering Caroline as she had rejected all that he ordered.

"How do you know my –" she hesitated before sputtering the word that she almost never used, "father?"

"I assume, he holds a decent reputation within the council back in your home, love, along with every other member."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't know the ugliest truth of your own home, do you, sweetheart?" Klaus arched an eyebrow at her.

"I'm - " she closed her eyes. "I'm Dana... Not your sweetheart or love."

She didn't know why she lied to him. Maybe it was all her better instincts screaming inside her to protect herself. He could act to be Mr. Charming right now, but what are the chances of him not transforming into one of the deadliest creatures that howl under the full moon – like the ones in the werewolf myths - which could be his true self? She wanted to protect herself. But if he knew her whole family, wouldn't he know her name...?  
She knew it was stupid of her to lie. But he scared her. More than anything had ever.

"No, you're not. It's Caroline Forbes, the ravishing Miss Mystic Falls who was also the head of the cheerleading committee and of course, the event organizer in your High School." He smiled at her, smugly. "I know all about you, love."

"Whatever. Just - what do you mean by - " Caroline rolled her eyes, changing the subject. " _The ugliest truth of my own home_." She mocked his accent which made him chuckle.

"I guess you best ask your Mother. She did quite a terrific job, to eclipse the truth from the world and, well, obviously you."

"Well, she isn't here is she? Guess I'm stuck here with you, until you decide to dispose me." She snatched the chocolate from Klaus and took a bite. Klaus did nothing but smiled.

He certainly couldn't overlook the things he was feeling. He was happy around her.  
But... He had a _purpose_ for all of this. It's something he _had_ to do. Something he couldn't walk away from.

Every moment that has passed by, he feels things he's never felt before. He couldn't help but smile at her cute gestures of annoyance. He couldn't ignore how beautiful she was. Everything about her was lovely. Her wavy golden hair and her sparkling blue eyes. Her lips beneath a tiny cute nose. Her lean figure and he realized, he could go on forever about how enchanting this lady was. The feelings were ineffable.

"You will never be disposable to me." He muttered leaving her astonished. They shared a look for a brief instant, and in that very concise moment, sparks ignited between them, without their perception. They were completely unaware that a halt has been put to a rageful war.

* * *

The cab pulled aside Katherine's home. The house in which she grew up in. She stood still, as lots of old memories flashed before her eyes.  
 _Five little girls running rings round a chair, laughing.  
High school moments in classes, in the cafeteria with her sister, Caroline and Bonnie.  
Her first date with Damon, in the woods.  
Harassing Stefan for fun.  
Annoying Jeremy and the three siblings pranking their parents.  
_As soon as the happy moments flashed into her mind, so did the bad ones. _  
The recalls of her parents came crashing back to her, pain pricked in her eyes suddenly making her panic a little bit.  
Damon's hurt face.  
Her running away from home.  
A baby's cry._

She wondered whether she had made a mistake by coming back – but she knew she had to be here. It was Caroline, one of her very best friends, one who had always helped her. Caroline was there for everyone, when everyone needed her, and this time, Caroline needed everyone.  
She knew coming back will not change the facts, but she did feel like she should be here, in this unfortunate situation. She didn't even realize that the driver had taken her luggage and was long gone. She asked herself how long she's been standing there.

Katherine hesitated as she stood on the porch before knocking on the door. A male who she did not recognize opened the door, both of them giving each a confusing look.

"Elena? I thought you just... left?" He asked. "Did you leave the keys..." he trailed off as his eyes traveled towards the luggage she had at her side.

"Katherine." She introduced herself. "Elena's sister. She went somewhere?"

"Katherine." He said. "Right. I'm Alaric Saltzman - Ric. Jenna's husband. "Come on in." He opened the door.

Oh, she thought. She remembered receiving the invitation through mail, six months after she fled from home. She was living with a woman named Rose then. She had too much guilt in her, too much dread that she just couldn't face everyone.

She heard Jenna and Alaric had a daughter – Nadia Saltzman.

"Oh, hi, Alaric. We haven't met." She wasn't sure what to say to her. "I'll just keep my luggage and - I need to see Elena and Jer..."

"Jeremy's snoozing - he has an early class tomorrow. And Elena... went to the Salvatore Boarding house, a few minutes ago," Alaric said as he helped himself pull her suitcase in. "Here, let me take this to your room." He smiled at her. He then took some keys from the side table next to them and handed her them. "You can take my car, Katherine." He directed her to the car.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Alaric said as she started the car. "Heard lots of stories about you from Jenna and your siblings."

"All good, I hope." Katherine smiled. Her smile was a little less innocent than Elena's.

"They miss you."

He nodded. She waved bye and did not stop the car until she was right in front of the Salvatore boarding house.

As she made her way, she prayed for Damon to not be there. Or she wanted to – she did not know. She was tangled up. She wanted to see him but not in front of everyone. She knew Damon. He was angry. They hadn't spoken in 8 years.

She slightly knocked. There was no answer. Hesitantly, she knocked again, a little louder this time.

The door swung opened. Her heart dropped seeing the familiar blue eyes and dark hair. Damon's trademark smile was missing on his handsome face – it had faded slowly as soon as he saw her. But he was still handsome. He looked like he did before eight years, a little had changed. He looked more sophisticated.

They both stared at each other for a diaphanous while, being flooded with the memories from the past that had haunted the two of them for a very long time. All happy moments of laughter and love, until it ethereally vanished, when she ran away.

He pulled himself up from the memory lane and got a grip over himself.

"Dam... on..." As she said his name, his heart sank. "Is Elena - " Damon opened the door wider and without any say, he walked inside the house. Katherine followed his trail into the living room where, Elena and Stefan were seated.

There was a laptop, in front of the couch. They seemed to be waiting for a call, tension was filled in the room. But as soon as they saw her, they were all speechless.

"Katherine..." Elena mumbled her name, slowly lifting herself from the couch and walked towards her. They both smiled at each other, and hugged. The hug lasted longer than anyone had planned on getting it going. They had missed each other so much, so much that the words were not enough to express the amount.

"Hey," Katherine muttered with a smile.

Stefan nodded to her, "Nice to have you here, Katherine."

She nodded and sat on the chair awkwardly.

"No one told me, she was coming," Damon said loudly, as he poured himself a drink. He turned around and faced everyone. Stefan secretly widened his eyes at Katherine, who replied with a nervous look.

"Yeah - I - we um - we told her that Caroline's missing – " Elena was interrupted.

"So?" Damon gulped down his drink. "How's _that_ gonna help us get Blondie back? Does she have a lead on the kidnapper? A name? A place? She's at least gotta have a plan! Oh, is that why she ran away from the world of sparkly little things?" He smirked at Stefan who gave him a frowning look, his lips pressed together.

Katherine was feeling a little bit nauseous due to Damon's cold behavior. He was upset, yes, and she decided that she deserved his anger towards her, given what she did to him. Right now, she did not want to get into it... This is not the time to pay for her sins, this was about Caroline. She is here because one of her loved one's in great danger and she couldn't just wait in a room, which was on a whole other continent, wondering what could possibly be happening to her. At least staying with her family will offer her some peace.

"Damon," Stefan muttered. "Let's not talk like she's not here... Okay?" Katherine smiled at Stefan for saving him from Damon's ruthless comments. She knew, without a speck of doubt, he'd be driving wooden stakes through her heart for as long as she's present with him in the same room.

Damon chuckled a bit, finally earning a look from everyone, even Katherine. But he was careful enough to not look at her, not yet, no, he couldn't. It still aches. Even after eight whole years, it still hurts. He couldn't move on; didn't want to stop loving her.

"Oh, is she still here!?" He gestured, sipping another drink down his throat forcefully. "Thought she ran away already." He slammed the glass on the side of the table, making his way towards the stairs.

Katherine shut her eyes and pressed her lips together. She had no idea what to say or do right now. She felt completely naked sitting there in front of everyone.

"Damon's - uh - " Stefan talked. "He's hurt. And, well, you know how well he handles that."

"Right. Typical Damon." It was hard saying his name to everyone else. She forced a smile out. She quickly changed the subject. "So, anyway, I'm here about Caroline. Tell me? All of it."

* * *

A wave of solitude had spread throughout the road of Montgomery. They were almost out of Atlanta when they had to stop due to a flat tire.

"You don't leave a spare tire in your car?" Caroline complained.

Klaus was picking up his bag from the car, "It's not my car. I stole it." Even though, Klaus was trying his best to get a signal on his phone, all his senses were firm on Caroline. With every glance, she became prettier and prettier, making him question the existence of such a beauty. He couldn't understand what he was feeling towards Caroline, but for one thing he knew, he was not going to hurt her in anyway, not to mention, he was not letting anyone else do it. He was not going to let her out of his sight, ever.

"The billionaire Klaus Mikaelson had to steal a car?" She shook her head in mockery."This is the worst kidnapping plan in the history of time!"

Klaus just raised his eyebrows whilst calling Elijah."What do you suggest? Please, by all means, do tell." He didn't leave any chance to mock at her.

"You could just let me go home."

"Then this wouldn't be an abduction, now would it, Sweetheart?"

"It's Caroline." She shot a glare at him.

He wasn't paying much attention to Caroline when Elijah picked up. "Elijah! My noble brother," he joked. Caroline shook her head scoffing, but the name caught her. Elijah. Elijah Mikaelson. The lawyer. The miracle lawyer.

"What's the problem Niklaus?" Elijah replied, seriously.

"Well, frankly speaking, our little brother is the problem itself - but let's not get to that now. I need you to send a car. I'll text to you where, and I need it at wolf speed."

"Alright." Was his calm comeback. Klaus quickly texted his brother the location and Caroline was getting a little annoyed by his behavior. He turned towards right, literally requesting her to come along with him. Holding her hand, he helped her to climb up a low cliff, and to her surprise, they were standing on a road.

"Do you know this place by heart or something?" She asked, suspiciously. "How?"

"Well, you did refer to me as a criminal earlier. I guess it has its perks." She rolled her eyes. He kept his bag and phone on the ground, where Caroline was seated. He sat across her.

A deafening awkward silence was filled by Caroline, as she decided to question him about their destination.

"So where are you taking me?"

"I see there's no harm in telling you now," he glanced at her. "To New Orleans."

"What's there?"

"Mikaelson Mansion." He muttered.

Mikaelson? Caroline had heard about how powerful the Mikaelsons had gotten over the past years. How mightful the Mikaelson conglomerate was. The siblings were once nothing, but had managed to strive, on their own, in their own path and gain prestige all over the world. They were careful enough to maintain a low profile revealing only what they wished to.

"You mean the _real_ Mikaelson Mansion? Where the _real_ Mikaelsons live?" Puzzled, she asked.

"I wasn't aware that there were Mikaelson _decoys_ , Sweetheart." He mocked.

"And why are you taking me to them?" She crossed her arms.

"Because, I prefer it at the Mansion than – well – the place I was supposed to take you to." He replied, his eyes were on the road. He knew, it wasn't the truth. He knew he just wanted to take her home. To his home.

"So you are like… Hunting down innocent people and taking them just so you can prove your loyalty to the Mikaelson alpha male?" She was displeased, her arms still crossed around her chest.

"I don't have to prove anything, love, I am the alpha male." He sneered. "I think it's time I formally introduced myself. My name is, Niklaus Mikaelson. You can call me Klaus."

Caroline was shocked. She was sitting next to a _billionaire_ \- not to mention - the billionaire had just abducted her. The Niklaus Mikaelson, the world's famous Real Estate broker. He had a way around his customers, one that would lure them into his trap, so much that they couldn't resist it. He was _RICH_. He was right, wasn't he? He doesn't need money. This was for revenge...

"Judging by the look on your face, I think, you've heard of me and my family." He arched an eyebrow.

"Wh - what do you want with me?"

He gave her a seducing look, meaning something else. Obviously he was joking. He changed his expression after her cold stare.

"Well, it's really a long story, I do not want to get into it and ruin my current mood,"

"Well - "

"And I don't want to see a frown in that face," he smirked. "If you don't know, it's probably best if you never do..."

Klaus remembered the constant fear in Caroline's eyes, even after he had promised he was no danger to her. She was trying to hide it, but it was quite visible. But then again, how could she believe him? Isn't he the one who dragged her from her home against her wishes? For God's sake, she was unconscious while she was being compelled into a whole other world out there, that waited for her. A world far from compassion, a place that did not show empathy, a ruthless hell that castigated the innocent. An emotional hatred created by her parents and the ones that resided in Mystic Falls. Everyone has to pay for what they did... but Caroline... She is innocent. Just like his sister... Just like Finn who's currently living in a box, serving his sentence, for a crime he did not commit. Innocent, like his mother who was ripped from him.

His first idea was torturing the girl if it were necessary, even if it meant going against his big brother Elijah, to show the Council of what awaits them if they do not confess for their crimes. He was willing to rip her fingernails, or chop her fingers off, it that was what it took to raise Bill Forbes from the dead. However, when he first saw her in real life, all his beliefs of cruelty collapsed. He began to wish if there were another way to this, that perhaps, Elijah was right. Maybe violence is not the answer, mayhap bloodshed only loudened the chaos. Maybe fighting fire with fire was not the solution.  
It's the light that drives out the darkness and love that would end the hatred. But a day ago, he would have laughed if someone even suggested that, and today, it was his thought...

He was drastically unsure of what to do with this plan any longer, when Elijah's car pulled aside.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3  
** I'm an atom in a sea of nothing  
Looking for another to combine  
Maybe we could be the start of something  
Be together at the start of time  
\- _Gabrielle Aplin_

* * *

It was almost midnight when they had reached the Mansion. The three of them walked, Klaus lightly held Caroline's hand, leading her towards the front door. Once inside the house, they found themselves standing in front of a younger version of Elijah. His eyes were dark, so was his hair just as Elijah's and all their other features were almost identical. **  
**

A sly smirk grew on his face, as he looked up and down Caroline, making her uncomfortable. She was not the only one feeling a bit uncanny; Klaus too did feel at unease as his own brother looked at _her_ that way - which he knew was not anywhere near good intentions.

"Well, well," his smirk still on his face, "Look what we have here," he leaned against the side of the table, locking his eyes on Caroline. He carelessly held a glass in his hand.

Klaus's glare did not seem to warn him enough, he continued Kol-ing.

"She looks like a tasty little thing, Nik." Kol murmured.

"Say another word and I'll tear out your liver," Klaus placed his palm on Kol's chest, giving him a mild thrust. Klaus expected such manners from Kol, he had never for a second doubted that.

Elijah, a bit concerned about Klaus's change in behavior, squinted at him, as he pushed Kol aside and walked with Caroline. What is Klaus's plan? What has she done to him? What has he done to himself?

"I'm sorry, what… What has happened to my brother?" He pointed at Klaus and asked Elijah, thrown by his behavior. "Perhaps, I've missed something? Elijah?"

Elijah still remembered how Klaus had selfishly treated Tatia, despite her willing to do almost everything for him. She was enamored of him and yet, he could not care less about her feelings toward him. He never acted possessive, nor did he try to protect her from anything, like he is with this girl. Tatia was just a toy. And today, he decided to bring Caroline to their home, a girl who was supposed to be a nothing but a foe.

"Hello, Elijah?" Kol waved his hands in front of Elijah's face, startling him from his reverie.

* * *

"Well, brother?" Elijah maintained his calm tone when he questioned his younger brother who was seated across Kol and Rebekah. "Please clarify us why the sudden alteration in our original plan?" He took a seat as well, a glass of Whiskey in his hand.

"You should ask our dear brother Kol." Klaus reacted carelessly.

Kol looked from Klaus to Elijah and then back to Klaus. He narrowed his eyes and raised his arms in defense. "I confess. I did it," He added sarcastically. "Really Nik? Is that your best excuse?"

"Kol had only taken the jet. You had plenty of other options than bringing the girl to our home." Elijah snapped. Kol wiggled his eyebrows at Klaus, mischievously.

He was a little worried, he himself believed that. This was the daughter of Bill Forbes, an assassin in disguise. For all they knew, this girl could be leading Bill Forbes into their home. All the Mikaelsons were well trained and would be able to take down at least a dozen at a time and together they could take down a whole crowd of people but Bill Forbes and his partner Giuseppe Salvatore were not comparable to a whole crowd, so have they heard. They weren't ones to be underestimated. They upheld their reputation for being ruthless and deadly.

"Don't tell me you've grown to like her." Rebekah muttered, gloomily.

They all wondered what was so wrong with Klaus that he was willing to take such a huge risk, endangering their family. He remembered a few years ago, he was against bringing Tatia to their home. He would say people could conspire against them. They had never seen Klaus's real home even though, Tatia was with Klaus for five long years. Everyone knew that Klaus was never in love with her or never even cared about her, not even a little bit.

"Rebekah, sister, don't be absurd," Klaus started. "I just thought it would be more comforting and secure for her at our home."

"Since when do you care about others wellbeing?" Elijah's response stunned Klaus and everyone else.

He slowly looked at Elijah with a blank expression.

That was a good question actually. Since when? Since the first time he laid eyes on her at the grill? Or did he start to care about her after listening to her adorable rambling? Or perhaps, it was the first time he held her outside the grill and when she lightly pressed her head against his chest, making his heart miss numerous beats for the first time. Maybe it could be when he saw her sleeping against the car seat, so peacefully as the moonlight bounced on her golden wavy hair. He perceived how he fell when she flew out of the car, despite not knowing what it conveyed.

Everyone waited for him to say something.

He looked outside the window towards the sun rising and began thinking about what Elijah was trying to imply.

He didn't have an answer.

* * *

Caroline rose with the crack of dawn welcomed with an unexpected surprise – Klaus – already there, in the arm chair with a smile on his face.

"Morning, love." He murmured making his way towards her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, pulling her hair up into a pony tail. "Well, I thought I'd take you out today," he handed her a fancy plastic bag that had '"D & G" logo in it. "I want to show you this city after a proper New Orleans fashion breakfast."  
Even before she asked, she knew for sure what was in the plastic bag. It would be a dress.

"What's this?"

"A little surprise," Klaus arched an eyebrow making Caroline roll her eyes in return.

"I'll be waiting downstairs for you," Klaus made his way towards the door. "Do hurry. I can hardly wait for today."

What's that even supposed to mean? She shook her head, for the millionth time since she had been shanghaied.

* * *

In about an hour Caroline was ready and downstairs. Maybe a little too ready. She had done her hair perfectly, using a pin to hold some layers, while the other golden curls fell upon her shoulder, perfectly matching the crimson dress that went beyond her knees, with laced long sleeves.  
Rebekah had her glare firm on on Caroline who felt daggers flying towards her whilst she stood next to Klaus not sure what to do. Rebekah didn't take her eyes off Caroline even for a second.  
"Of course you look pretty," she commented. "You're wearing everything Nik gifted you."

Caroline grew very uncomfortable. She wasn't sure whether it was a compliment or an insult - or maybe it was a little bit of both but she didn't really like the way Rebekah had sounded. It was rude. Klaus tilted his head at Rebekah, as a sign of warning.

Henrik walked into the living room and knew Klaus was taking Caroline out somewhere. He smiled at both of them, and even at Rebekah, which was awfully rare leaving the two other siblings stunned.

"Nik, going somewhere?" He asked in his default silent tone.

"Yeah," Klaus clapped his hands together, giving Caroline a look. "I thought I'd show her around this city."

Henrik nodded. "Are you joining them, Bekah?"

"No!" Klaus yelled. "I mean, she wants to stay in and meet some clients, isn't that right, Rebekah?" The last thing he needed was his sister to hate on Caroline throughout the tour.

"No. But I'd rather sit here idly than be anywhere near around our little hostage and the kidnapper who clearly perplexed her for a bloody queen."She sank into the fancy white couch.

"Bekah, don't be mean..." Henrik muttered to everyone's surprise.

"Wh... Umm... Okay - Um - it was a joke Henry... I was just joking." She smiled nervously.

Klaus wiggled his eyebrows at Rebekah before he took Caroline's hand and smirked at her. "Shall we?"

After Klaus had taken his leave, Henrik had left the living room informing Rebekah that he'll be in the _Training Room._ It's where the Mikaelsons worked out - trained themselves to fight better than anyone else. And they were the best. They were faster, stronger and more intelligent than any average men out there.  
They had almost all the equipments required for any purpose and that helped them all a lot.

As Rebekah sat there holding a book, wondering about different things, she was startled by Kol.

"Bekah!" He yelped. "Where is everyone?" He dropped himself onto the couch, right next to her. She finally opened her book and darted the page.

"Out touring themselves around this God forsaken city." She mumbled, keeping her eyes on the book.

"I mean, where's Nik and Elijah? I'm bored. And where's Henrik? I've searched for him in his room - isn't this his training period?"

She closed the book, looking right at her brother.

"Elijah's in the study and Henrik is in the Training Room. Nik went out with his - I'm not quite sure what she is to him."

"Are you kidding me?" He asked. "Why?"

"How should I know?" She snapped and opened the book again. Kol annoyingly withdrew the book keeping it at his side, looking at her in a mocking manner.

"Why are you so grumpy, little sister?"

"I'm not." Kol gave her a look and she finally admitted. "Fine. Okay. It's that, Nik's behavior towards this girl has me worrying ever since."

"I know," Kol agreed. "Nik's never even _looked_ at a woman in his life and - "

"What are you amateurs meandering about?" Elijah came out of the study, poured himself a drink and sat on the couch, across them.

"About the girl that stole from us." Kol said.

"And who might that be? If you're perhaps, not reminiscing about an even that took place - 5 or so years ago - about the m- " Elijah replied in his calm tone.

"Caroline Forbes."

"What are you saying?" Elijah murmured.

"She might have stolen Nik's heart," Kol suggested. "I can't blame Nik, she is but appealing." He joked.

"I was thinking the same..." Elijah trailed off.

"And since when does Nik want to brag about this city to a _girl_ he just happens to pick up from a bloody bar?" Rebekah complained. "Maybe he's finally learning how to feel." She scoffed.

"Perhaps it's good that he is," Elijah nodded.

"It's about time." Kol joined him, flashing his evil smirk.

* * *

This was Bonnie's favourite part of the job. She got to spend some alone time wandering around in famous places – and right now, she was in New Orleans in an amazing late afternoon. As she did so, she apprehended she hasn't seen so many cultures mixed together in the same place. It was insane! In a good way.

She decided to make the most of it, as she had to leave that night. The terrible absence of her friends undeniably ached, so she went store after store, buying gifts for her friends, Dad and Grams.

While she was in Rousseau's – a bar in the French Quarter, right after her shopping spree, having a little French fries, having a conversation with the pleasant blonde bartender - Camille, she caught a glimpse of a familiar face in a striking evening dress.

Caroline.

At first she thought she had imagined it, but the sassy way she had her arms crossed against her chest proved it was, without a doubt, the Caroline she grew up with.

What is she doing here? She quickly headed that way, but Caroline had started walking.

"Caroline!" She called out. But Caroline had gotten into an SUV with a man and they drove away before Bonnie could get out of the bar. "That's weird." She watched them leave.

She took out her phone and growled when it was still switched off. She must have forgotten to turn it back on. As soon as she did she checked her messages and in no time panic had filled her eyes.

Now she knew it was surely Caroline.

Quickly, she called someone.

"Hey! I just got the messages." She said. "I think I know where Caroline might be."

* * *

After she had informed everyone back at home about Caroline being in New Orleans, she had decided to follow the SUV, in spite of the warnings Damon had given her, Liz being the human reference. Although the Sheriff had disagreed to reveal further – acting all peculiar.

Somehow, she was led into a large house. Bonnie knew better than to observe it from a close distance, staying behind a large white oak tree that surrounded many others. The heavily armed guards at the gate of the huge 'mansion' were enough evidence that it did fall under the danger category. These people were full of peril, one might say. This gave her a disturbing wave of sensations, when she imagined Caroline being tied up to a chair.

There weren't any houses near the mansion. The area was – utterly solitude. Yet it was beautiful.

She wanted to get inside to help her best friend out. But Bonnie knew it was impossible to even sneak in! Not without getting caught or, well, killed.

What was she going to do?

She was observing carefully, behind the tree, when the phone rang, startling her. It was Damon.

"What!?" She was frustrated, partly because his call had nearly given her a heart attack.

"Whoa, Medusa," he jested. "Not the time to be throwing a wobbly."

"Sorry," she said. "I'm standing in front of the house Caroline's in."

"Bonnie!?" His tone indicated how upset he was. "When I tell you _not_ to do something, guess what? Don't do it!"

"At least I found out where Caroline is."

"Ughmgh," he growled, his teeth clenched. "Wait, what do you mean _house_?"

"Actually it's more like a mansion."

"And by that you mean...?"

"That she's being kept in a big mansion. Oh, one that is surrounded by heavily armed guards."

"Hmm," he said. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm not judging your psychic abilities, but –"

"I saw the car go in with my own eyes." She wasn't upset; it was typical of Damon to be joking even in serious situations. She ignored his comment. "Just – find a way to get inside this place."

"Did you see the guy's face this time? Or anyone else's?"

"The guards are pretty visible."

"Alright. Text me the location," he responded. "– And get the hell out of there before your annoying little head cooks up a very bad idea that involves intruding."

"I thought there weren't anything as _bad ideas_."

"Well –" he didn't have anything else to say. Bonnie was attacking him with his own words. "Whatever. Just wait there. I've a plan."

* * *

Caroline had to admit. Klaus had given her an incredible experience. He had taken her to 'Saints & Sinners'. She had never had food that tasted so good!

Afterwards they had visited the Crescent Park and Audubon Park. Klaus had planned to take her to different places but Caroline had grown tired. He requested to tag a little while longer, while they were stopped in front of a Rousseau's bar, but Caroline had denied it. Mostly, to avoid being treated like she had wanted to. The way Klaus dealt with her, cared for her, talked to her and looked at her hindered to pay no attention to the feelings growing inside her. He made her feel special and wanted; like she's his first choice - not the second best as she has always been. She was no longer furious with Tyler's indiscretions with Hayley. Sure she was wounded but, it suddenly felt years ago. She had moved on for certain.

Was it because of Klaus? What is his deal anyway? One minute he's threatening Caroline's friends and the next he's transformed into this caring, charming person.

Caroline knew she was kidnapped for a reason, but she sure did not feel like a hostage – Klaus had made sure of that. She knew her abduction will lead the Mikaelsons to William Forbes, her father, whom she has not seen or spoken about for a long, long time. Liz rarely mentioned him, and Caroline never asked about him that often. The Mikaelsons were taking revenge from the Council members through her.

Of course, she thought to herself. Klaus must think Caroline knew information that may be worthy. He's trying to seduce her so she'll fall under his trap and reveal things that will allow them to destroy the Council. So this has been planned and intended all along. Why else would anyone treat her pleasantly, if they didn't want anything in return?

She warned herself, that this man is manipulating her feelings, deceiving her for his own benefit – to get to her father and to obtain information about the council. She understood that, she was here for one reason, and she forced herself to believe that, that for him, she's just a means to reach Bill Forbes. Even though she felt attracted to him, she decided, he did not feel that way. This time, Caroline was not going to allow anyone to reduce her into the level an object.

When Klaus had walked her to her room, he had requested Caroline to join him for dinner. She checked the time, one more hour till 7:30. She was still not sure of what her decision is.

* * *

"Good evening," an officer in his uniform, followed by a couple more officers greeted the two Mikaelson brothers to their surprise. The guards must have let them in, because they were detectives, but it was weird why they had never informed him.

Good thing they had a contingency plan, in case something like this rose up.  
"Good evening, gentlemen," Elijah walked towards them an offered his hand.

"I'm Officer Matthew Donovan from Mystic Falls," Matt spoke. The Mikaelson brothers had immediately recognized him the moment he walked in. They had exchanged a secret glance, which went unnoticed by everyone else.  
Elijah secretly pulled out his phone and texted Rebekah.  
 **  
Elijah:**  
Officer Matthew Donavan here.  
Get the girl out. Fast.  
 **  
Rebekah:**  
What, now, I'm the super nanny?  
 **  
Rebekah:**  
I'll do it bro.

He let out a silent sigh of relief not having to argue with his little sister at this moment.

"And I'm the Sheriff of New Orleans," another spoke familiarly. "Kieran O'Connell." He nodded. They knew each other and the Sheriff respected the Mikaelsons. A lot.

"Of course, Sheriff O'Connell," Klaus spoke with his deceiving voice. "Please take a seat. Both of you."

"I'm here because a witnessed claimed of seeing a girl that has been missing for two days. Her name is Caroline Forbes, she's from Mystic Falls." Matt handed Elijah a picture of Caroline. "Is she familiar to anyone of you?"

"I can't say for certain... How may we be of any help to you?" Elijah asked, carefully.

"She saw her entering your very mansion this afternoon." Matt explained.

"Mr. Mikaelson. Surely there must be some kind of mistake, but, I'm afraid my hands are tied at the moment." Sheriff O'Connell declared showing them a piece of paper. It was a search warrant. Sheriff Forbes must be desperate to get her daughter back.

"Of course, then," Elijah proposed. "It's all yours."

Elijah and Klaus exchanged an anxious gaze, as the four officers went either ways exploring their home.

* * *

She was pondering in her room when someone rudely barged in, unexpectedly.

It was the tall, blonde conceited Mikaelson sister.

"Ugh," she glowered. "What the bloody hell even is that?" Rebekah was pointing at the pajama Caroline was wearing. It made her look down. Klaus had taken her shopping in Atlantic City, and asked her to choose anything she wanted.  
Obviously, Rebekah had better taste than Caroline, given she wasn't granted a luxurious living.

"Anyway, no time for idle banter," she said without giving her a chance to speak. "Your homeboys are here in search for you. Although I don't see the point."

"What are you talking about?"

"We are not going to let them take you, silly girl." She grabbed Caroline's hand and started walking.

"No, not that." Caroline replied.

"Oh. According to my brother 'lijah, someone named Officer Matthew Donovan is here with his adolescent squad." She sighed. "Haughty, isn't it?"

Matt. Matt was here to rescue her. How is that even possible? She wasn't expecting anyone to come for her. She always thought her friends would soon move on and forget all about her. She broke into a smile knowing that her friend was here for her. They cared. Of course they did...  
And now, she had to leave this place. She had to do something to draw attention to her. Her heart started pounding faster and faster. She looked down the corridor, it was empty. Then where was she?

Caroline tried to get free from Rebekah's grip and run away, but Rebekah was much stronger.

"Are you serious?" Rebekah turned to face her, her eyes locked in Caroline's. "Do you really think I'll let them take you? Say that you somehow manage to go. But don't you think we'll be able to get you back just as easily as we did the first time? If anything, much easier. But know one thing, Caroline Forbes," she moved closer to Caroline and this made her really uncomfortable. There was something evil about her stare. "If you screw this up, I'll come after everyone that you love and then I will rip you apart, is that clear?"

Caroline nodded, and without wasting another second, Rebekah had pushed her down the stairs, out the house and into a car. She realized she was running just like Rebekah did.

Where exactly is Matt? She wondered, looking back at the mansion that appeared smaller and smaller in size as they drove away.

* * *

After giving her statement to the Sheriff of New Orleans, she left in a hurry. Now she was in the Salvatore Boarding house to discuss their failure in getting Caroline back.  
As happy as she was to see Katherine here, with them, she felt despair due to the situation.

"Well that was a complete and utter disappointment." Damon said, sinking into the couch, and putting his hands behind his head, leaning back. "Anybody got a better idea?"

"I know it was her," Bonnie said. "She got into –"

"Bonnie, we know." Elena proclaimed. "Besides, Sheriff Forbes seemed pretty upset by hearing the family name."

"What family name?" Katherine asked, playing with her hair.

Damon glared at her, stubbornly not answering to her question. Bonnie saw an opportunity to make things a little right between them and pinched Damon's arm. Maybe if they talk here even if it's not direct, things will start to lighten up between them. This could be a start.

He jolted in pain, "Aaugh! Bonnie!?" He shook his head, giving her a puzzled look. Bonnie tilted her head and faked a smile on her heart shaped face.

"Doesn't matter. The plan failed so, unless you have a better idea, you're not allowed to speak." He surmised.

"Actually –"

"Ah! Ah!" Damon raised his index finger interrupting Katherine. "What did I just tell ya?"

Clenching her teeth, she tried her best not to snap at Damon right now. She turned to face Stefan and Elena instead.

"How about _we_ do something about it." Katherine suggested.

"What do you mean _we_?" Damon asked.

"Wasn't talking to you, Demon Salvadorky."

"A, that doesn't even rhyme with my last name and B, just answer the question."

"I don't know what your problem is, but I'm guessing it's hard to pronounce."

Elena, Bonnie and Stefan exchanged glances. They knew the Katherine-Damon battle had begun. Like old times.

"If you ask me, that happens to marathon runners."

"Oh, remember when I asked you? Yup, me neither."

"Just shut up Katherine."

"You shut up!"

"Uhmm," Stefan interposed. "Just out of morbid curiosity, when – is this going to end?"

"Yeah, because, it seems we have a bigger problem than your extortions towards one another. No offense." Elena added.

Katherine cleared her throat, after making a face at Damon. Damon simply ignored. He knew Katherine would win this game. She always has.  
She gaped when she realized she didn't remember where the actual conversation was headed to.

"You were saying something about us stepping up…?" Stefan claimed.

"Right," Katherine began, nodding. "I mean, maybe one of us could go to that house and get her out. Not immediately, but eventually. We gain their trust and also find what all this fuss about the 2000 crisis is, and then we break her out."

"If this is relating back to 2000, they probably know about us." Bonnie added.

"Which is why none of _you_ could go as a disguise." Katherine asserted.

"Elaborate, Ms. Katherine." Damon said in a mocking tone.

"Hello," Katherine gestured. "I could go. I haven't lived here for almost a decade. And they won't even doubt I know anything about you guys and Caroline." She explained, and everyone seemed to agree to the plan. "I could use the oldest trick in the book – my car broke down and stuff. According to Bon fortunately, there aren't any houses nearby."

"You couldn't find one for miles," Bonnie joined Katherine.

"Yeah! See?" Katherine exclaimed. "I'll be the disguise." Besides, it wouldn't be the first time, she added to herself.

"But aren't you forgetting something?" Bonnie asked. "You look exactly like Elena and that might be a problem..."

"I know," Katherine wrapped a curl around her finger. "But if they do a background search, it'll lead back to Paris – where I've been living for the past – six years."

Damon and Katherine exchanged a look that lasted for a long time.

"Great. So we come back with Caroline and the truth," Stefan broke the silence, taking up his glass. "But we need some modification. You have to keep your mobile on all the time and no bugs since... whoever the hell they are, they are smart. And you have to be canny too."

"But you alone could... be a little dangerous, Katherine." Bonnie muttered. "Someone else should go - don't you have a friend that could come - "

"I know someone who could go..." Elena murmured.


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4  
** Everytime I try to fly,  
I fall without my wings.  
\- _Britney Spears_

* * *

"And why would I help Caroline out of some freaking mess that she got herself into?" A girl with long brown straight hair asked out loudly. Her right hand rested on her swollen belly, as she drank mango juice that Elena had offered, as soon as she walked through the door. "I don't even know her. Personally."

Everyone looked at her and at each other with nervousness.

"Before she starts with her bitchy attitude, may I ask who that is?" Damon asked.

"She's the girl, Tyler slept with – eight months ago," Stefan informed. He pressed his lips together and raised both his eyebrows.

Damon had no idea what to say. He just stared at Stefan with a confused frown and finally managed to say, "What!?"

"We'll torture Tyler later. Once we get Caroline back." Bonnie tried to convince him.

"Caroline knows?" Damon gestured.

"Yeah, Damon. Now can we focus on the bitchy attitude girl? She needs to agree to this." Stefan tried.

" _She_ is right here," she pointed at herself.

"Hayley, right?" Katherine asked moving towards her. "As I can see, _you_ 're pretty knocked up when you have no family to support you. Sucks." Katherine said giving her a once-over. "Whose gonna help you raise a baby?"

Hayley blankly looked at Katherine, lowering her glass of juice on the side table.

"Tyler?" Katherine sneered. "A daddy? I don't think so. Besides, he doesn't want anything to do with you or the bun in your oven so my money won't be on that door for financial support."

"She doesn't want to keep the baby, Katherine." Elena muttered.

"Actually, I do." Hayley looked straight into Elena's eyes.

"Last time we talked you were ready to get an abortion."

"Last time we talked, you weren't very nice." Hayley smirked. There was something spoilt about her.

"I'm sure you can understand why," Elena snapped. She remembered yesterday morning, receiving a call from Tyler who sounded troubled and anxious. When she went to the Grill to meet up with Tyler, he wasn't alone. Hayley was there too. At first, the thought of such degradation from Tyler hadn't even crossed her mind, but all was understood when Tyler confessed to his wrongdoing. Elena was furious and almost yelled at both of them in front of everyone, but she managed to control it, despite the resentment she carried. Tyler was concerned about Caroline's absence, as he thought it had something to do with him deceiving her. However, Elena explained to him that she has been kidnapped and it was nothing to do with Tyler. Hayley had interrupted and asked help from Elena, to help her search for her family, with the help of Damon Salvatore and Matthew Donovan since she found out that the Lebonnairs last resided in Mystic Falls and suddenly disappeared without a trace. According to her, the Mystic Falls Police department wouldn't help her and Hayley knew something was wrong so she needed help from an insider who could look things up. Clearly, Hayley had underestimated the level to which the Mystic Falls can deceive.

Elena had then warned both of them to never ask for any favour from her, Hayley broke it up to Elena that she was only going to get rid of the baby – she cannot keep it. Once she gets help from Damon and Matt, she would be gone from their lives and so will the baby. And Elena had barked, through her clenched teeth, "You're no different than your family that abandoned you. If anything, you're worse." She stormed out the Grill before Tyler could ask more about Caroline.

This had changed Hayley's decision. That made Hayley decide, firmly, that no matter what, she was going to keep her baby. She was going to fight for it. Because what Elena said was true. Her birth parents gave her up and adoptive parents kicked her out after finding about the pregnancy. That was when she certain, she was not going to let anyone hurt it.

"What Katherine's trying to say is, if you help us, we'll return the favour." Elena added.

"Hmm. I liked my way better, 'Lena." Katherine complained and saw Damon rolling his eyes at her.

"So what? You're gonna bribe me?" She asked giving each of them a look. "Help me find my family _if_ I help you get sweet Caroline back?"

"Something like that," Bonnie sat next to her. "I know you've been looking for your family. I could help you get to them. Damon and Matt, work with the Sheriff's department. Hell, I'll practically search for them myself. And, we could offer you some money, enough to last a life time, _if_ you're willing to make a deal."

"What if you don't keep the end of your deal? What if all this is just a trick?"

"What, now? You want a written contract?" Damon snapped, his jaw was clenched.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about."

Elena knew Hayley would be a tough one to persuade. There was only one way to do this.

"How about a lot of money? From each one of us?" She gave everyone in the room a look, asking if they were willing to do this. It was asking a lot, but Caroline was worth more.

"I'm in." Bonnie agreed

"Me too." Katherine said with a smile.

Stefan nodded. So did Damon.

"But," Damon held his palms up. "If you run away with our money, I'll have you arrested and make sure you spend _at least_ a decade in a cell where the only conversation you'll have are with the four walls."

Hayley began thinking. How bad could this be anyway? She was going to get some cash which will help her raise her baby, and maybe she'll finally find her long lost family. Something she had longed for. All she had to do was go to some place and play pretend with Katherine, and help her search for clues, while the rest of them ganged up to come up with a plan to break Caroline out.

Hayley and Katherine were perfect for the task. Hayley is not related to Caroline in anyway, so it will be easier to shadow the truth and her being pregnant is a plus point.

"How much are we talking about?" Hayley agreed.

Elena smiled at Katherine, who returned a twin smile, with a little evilness hidden in it.

* * *

As Tyler walked into the Grill, his eye caught Jeremy and Matt having a drink. He casually walked up to them as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey, man." He said before ordering a drink for himself.

Matt and Jeremy shared a look and they didn't bother replying to Tyler. They just went on with their drinks.

"Really?" Tyler said. "You're all just gonna ignore me forever…?"

"No, Ty," Matt began. "I'm just really mad at you –"

"Right. I get it." He looked down at his drink.

"When did this even happen?" Jeremy asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Eight months ago. Right around the time when my Dad died, I took a trip to get my mind cleared out..." He explained.

"In the Appalachia?" Jeremy asked. "That's what you were doing for a month?"

"No – it happened just once. It was in this little cottage, and Hayley was there too. We were only friends and she was helping me out a lot to help me move on from everything. But one night we got drunk – too drunk I don't even remember. That night's kinda blur to me even now. I don't want anything to do with Hayley's child or her. This just ruined everything for me."

" _You_ ruined it." Matt got off of his seat. "At least try to be a man right now and take responsibility for once in your life." Without another say he walked away leaving Tyler confused.

"Where's he going?" Tyler enquired, puzzled.

"Home. He's keeping Vicky in check."

"Wait, Vicky is in town?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah – uh – yeah. He got her home."

After a while of an awkward quietness, Tyler finally spoke. "I've lost her, haven't I?"

"I don't know about that… But, it's Caroline, you know? She, umm… She loved you. I never thought anybody could love you, no offense," He scoffed. "Never thought Caroline would. But she really did love you. She had her entire life planned with you." Tyler narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I sometimes hear them talking about stuff when everyone comes over to my house."

Tyler sighed, and slowly shook his head from side to side. "I love her. I still do. I… I don't know how to fix this. I'm not even sure whether it can be." Tyler spoke, pushing his drink away.

"Yes, maybe you did love her, and you still do, but let me tell you, man," Ric slapped on Tyler's shoulder, taking a seat next to him. "If you were _in_ love with her, drunk or not, you wouldn't have done something like that." He ordered a drink and before Tyler could speak in his defense, he interrupted again. "Come on Tyler. Who are you kidding? You guys have been going out since High School and went out through College. You were still together and everything looked perfect. And now, you're both twenty-six, yet the thought of proposing to her never occurred to you. I personally think it was because you never felt it with her. Or you were scared to move a step forward with her because you didn't think she was the one."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Did you see her in your future? Married, having kids together and riding off to the sunset to live happily ever after?"

Maybe there was once a time, during High School when he had planned his future with Caroline, doing all the teenage stuff that they both planned on doing. Recently, Tyler had never actually thought about his future in any case. He knew today had to be lived and his today was Caroline. He tried to make her happy and laugh by getting her small gifts and taking her for drives and on dates in restaurants, spend most of his time with her, making memories – maybe promised her everything at the top of a Ferris Wheel.

It was before everything started feeling – poles apart. Somehow, without even realizing it, they had grown up and grown apart from each other and there was this space between them, which can no longer be filled. When Tyler looked back at it, he knew even Caroline had been estranged from him in an unexplainable way. And the worst part is, neither of them knew when, why or how it happened. It's as if she wanted so much more than what Tyler could have offered her and he wanted different things.

He was in love with her, through everything and he still loves her. Maybe the perspective have changed, but he had never dreamt of hurting her in anyway. Perhaps that was what kept both of them going. They were afraid to hurt one another.

What they had wasn't real. Because if it were, they couldn't have walked away.

"No."

* * *

The Detectives left almost an hour ago. After a while, Klaus and Elijah had given a call to Sheriff Forbes asking her whether she had any leads on her ex-husband. Her answer was disappointing, as she informed the _kidnapper_ that she had failed to reach him at this point, however she had gotten in touch with an old friend that happens to be Bill Forbes' associate and he's working to get to him. After he had mildly threatened her to better hurry things up he had hung up quickly. Liz hadn't dared to ask who they were, because she somehow didn't have any qualms about the answer and that terrified her.

It was just Klaus and his older brother in their enormous living room, still surrounded by unease and an awkward silence. Klaus knew what his brother was thinking. He paced back and forth while texting Rebekah to get home when the muteness was wrecked by Elijah's considerably unruffled tone that was awfully still dismayed.

"You've any idea what you've done?"

Klaus didn't answer. He knew it was his fault. Bringing her here may have been a mistake. Or he had misjudged the levels to which her family would go to find her. He of all people knew what that must feel like.  
But her presence had made him happy. The feeling of euphoria when she would smile was inexpressible. He didn't want to leave her in the hands of some petulant guards – who knows what they'll do to her?

"You led them into our home – the place where _our_ family sleeps during the night. The only place that is slightly safe for us." He raised his voice walking towards Klaus who had a guilty look on his face. Klaus licked his lips and tried to utter something – anything in his defense. But Elijah wouldn't understand. He was angry, at Klaus.

"I've tried contemplating as to why you'd risk that, but I cannot understand." He had his right hand in his pocket. "So brother, why don't you help me out here?"

Klaus still remained silence and avoided eye contact with Elijah.

"Niklaus," He walked towards his little brother and touched his shoulders. "Do you perhaps fancy this girl the way I think you do?"

Does he? He asked himself. When he was around her, it was completely different. It was as though all was well in this world and he was a normal person. She makes him forget his pitiless desires and makes him want to redeem himself; be a better man.

Elijah nodded. "I think that answers my questions."

"I don't know what you're talking about, 'Lijah."

"Yes you do." He smiled. "You're just afraid."

"I fear _nothing_ , brother."

"You fear yourself," his tone had softened to a one barely above a whisper. "And about how you feel. The girl, Niklaus, you're afraid of the impact she's been making on you."

Not wanting to hear anymore of the nerve wracking theories of his older brother, Klaus started marching away but he was abruptly grabbed by the elbow and turned around to face Elijah. His eyes bore into his younger sibling as he continued in his hushed tone. "She's innocent. She has no fault in what happened to us. You do not have to feel guilty about it. I suggest you face your fears and if the aftermath is precious, you hold on to it."

* * *

Rebekah had driven for almost about an hour, and Caroline was startlingly looking out the car window at a bayou. The surrounding had deeply been disturbed, and there were emblems of those that must have lived there, years ago. It was dirty – she had to admit, but a great hiding spot. Except she did not want to hide.  
Rebekah checked her phone when it beeped. There were two messages, first one was from Klaus.

 **Nik:  
** Bring her home, Bekah.

 **Bekah:  
** Alright.

 **Kol:  
** Party tonight at Rousseau's! :D  
COME JOIN ME BEX. ;)  
I DON'T WANT TO BE BORED STIFF. :/

 **Bekah:  
** What happened to your  
sluts that keep you occupied? :O

 **Kol:  
** Just trying to do something nice  
for my baby sis. :)

 **Kol:  
** Come on. :/  
Don't be such a bore.  
Staying home all day is not healthy.  
Look at Nik & Elijah.  
And then look at me! ;)

 **Bekah:  
** Fine.  
Will try to get them to agree. If not,  
will sneak out. ;)

 **Kol:  
** Now that sounds like my sister. :)  
See ya there in 15? :D :D

 **Bekah:  
** Make it 30 **.**

"So," Caroline put on her best Miss Mystic Falls smile. "How long do we have to stay here?"

"We are actually good to go," Rebekah replied, after sending someone a text. Caroline nodded and Rebekah wondered if now was an appropriate time to question Caroline about Klaus' change in behavior. "And before we start, you have exactly two minutes to explain what the bloody hell you did to my narcissistic brother."

She knew something about her brother had changed, but it was pleasant. He was happy now. And that was a feeling long buried when their family was shattered. Everyone else, had at least found their share of happiness throughout the course of their life, but Klaus hadn't savored that.

Rebekah had found hers back when she was in Switzerland, with a man named Alexander – against her brother's wishes and like Klaus had suspected, Alexander betrayed her. But she remembered being happy with him. He was her first boyfriend, and after the heartbreak, her brothers had constantly reminded her of not falling in love, but Rebekah's heart wouldn't listen to anyone.

She fell for another, Emil who only fooled around and played with her feelings. But when her brothers found out about this, they made sure that Emil wouldn't dare even be in the same room as her sister. They did that every time after that, when Rebekah found someone to care about. In their defense, no one was good enough for their little sister.

Marcel's story was the hardest for Rebekah to think about, making her bury the memories in a box and tuck it away. He only wanted to gain a business deal with the Mikaelsons and before his true intentions surfaced, Klaus grew fond of Marcel and had started accepting him as his best friend. But after that, her brothers furiously exiled him from New Orleans and they didn't leave it at that. Klaus had robbed him from his company and donated the money to a Hermitage, while Kol wrathfully played with Marcel's adoptive daughter's feelings breaking her heart in a vicious way in the end.

Rebekah had decided not to fall in love ever again, accepting the family code.

 _Family above all, always and forever. We do not feel, we do not care as love is what makes us weak and we're not weak.  
_ Importantly, they had a purpose – something more vital than petty distractions to deviate them away from the plan.

But what was he doing now? Isn't Caroline becoming a distraction? The way he looked at her, as he did no other was enough proof that he did not see her as just part of a plan – as his hostage. She meant more to him. If not, why invite her to their _home?_ Why flood her with gifts to see her smile and offer her to show around the city? Why else, would he order the cook to make all her favourite food? If he hadn't brought her home, the detectives wouldn't dare be in their home today.

Rebekah's worry was not towards Caroline off leading them of their plan – she knew her brothers would put family above all. Is she becoming family to him?  
Instead it made her strangely elated even when she sort of despised Caroline, as she worried that Klaus would end up getting hurt.

"What –" Caroline faced Rebekah. "– are you talking about? He's the one who kidnapped me."

"True, but you've surely managed to capture his feelings, now haven't you?" She accused Caroline, a mild suspicious look in her narrowed eyes.

Mikaelsons were experts at leaving Caroline entirely wordless. First it was Klaus and now it was her brat of a sister. First of all, she did not even understand what Rebekah was trying to denote as it did not even make sense at all. Caroline knew Klaus only abducted her to get to her father and the reveal all the dirty secrets – if there were any to be revealed. If not, he was just planning something evil against them.  
And as far as his manners towards her bothered, she was assured that Klaus – the billionaire must have treated a lot of women that way. It was no surprise and she hadn't expected anything more.

"I've known Nik my whole life… He's..." She hesitated before faltering out the words. "He's different around you. Happier, more caring and... easier. I'm just concerned about my brother and so is everyone else."

Caroline still sat frozen, not sure of what to do or say. She just blinked. Could it be…

"This is the part where you speak for yourself, Caroline." Rebekah dropped her hands to her lap, raising her eyebrows.

"I – don't really know what to say."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, Rebekah," She held rested her head in her palms for a while before locking her eyes in Rebekah's blue eyes. "And I don't want to think about him..."

"What the hell are you saying?"

True, Klaus had made her feel like the only one that mattered to him. But she wasn't ready to believe that. She was scared. She let in people too easily. That was the reason she gets hurt. She knew it was time to keep the entire world at bay – just turn her feelings off. But can she resist the urges she got whilst being around the one person who has made her feel the way she had never felt? She didn't know. But she knew one thing, if Klaus w _as_ indeed playing her, she didn't want to break down all over again. Because the one person she had known her entire life, the one person who she thought would never hurt her had destroyed her. And Klaus was a stranger who had recently walked into her life.

"I mean… He kidnapped me!" She blurted out. "He wants me here for reasons. _Reasons_ that I don't even know and never had the chance to ask him! I feel like he's using me… I don't know what to believe, okay!? I've been casted-off my entire life! I'm never the one. I'm only the one people wants to go out with if they've been rejected by someone else! If not, they just use me to make other people jealous," She scorned slightly. "And then I think they actually like me, which is crazy, because in the end I always find out they don't. Other times, my boyfriend knocks up some random girl who follows him back home! If I'm _the one_ at anything, it's only to get hurt. And now, I just can't. It's… Just too hard… I've never been loved like I wanted to. Maybe I never will and you know what? It's better than getting hurt again."

Rebekah listened to her, without blinking. She knew exactly how Caroline felt. Caroline had gone the same exact thing Rebekah had gone through. Rebekah knew how difficult it was to let people again anymore… She too was scared.  
"I know…" She murmured. "I know that feeling…" Then unknowingly, Rebekah started telling her about her stories. After she was finished, it was only silence for a while until, out of nowhere Rebekah announced. "You know what we need?"

"What?"

"Let's go to Rousseau's."

The corners of Caroline's eyes crinkled as she tried to remember what a Rousseau's was.

"It's a bar in the French Quarter. Kol's throwing some sort of a snobbish party. I'm guessing we could get drunk and forget our sorrows. For now. And his parties are fun. Not that I've been to many due to restrictions."

"Okay. That sounds good," Caroline had squeaked. Besides, where else was she supposed to go? To have a dinner date with Tyler – the to-be Daddy? Who was she trying to kid?  
But there was one problem. "But what about Klaus?"

"He'll be fuming –"

"Even better!" Caroline's comment had made Rebekah laugh a bit. They smiled at each other as Rebekah started the car.

* * *

They knew whoever these people were they were shrewd and cunning. If they were going to get Caroline out of the hell hole they have to be smarter than them. Sending Katherine and Hayley as a infiltrator may not be the best idea, everyone agreed, but it was their only possibility to solve this mess, since the search for Caroline in the Mikaelson mansion was futile. Now they were sure that the New Orleans Police will no longer cooperate with them since they were hesitant at first and seem to respect them a lot. Who could blame them? The Mikaelsons were famous around the entire world and everyone worshiped them. No one would even doubt they would do anything like that.

Liz had received a call earlier that morning, threatened by the kidnapper to speed up the hunt for Bill Forbes. Maybe Klaus was a bit polite towards Liz since he knew it was Caroline's mother. It didn't make any sense to him either. Liz had called a lot of people. He knew Logan Fell was one of Bill's associates, and she contacted him and the conversation was hopeless in a away. Although he had agreed to make a few more calls since he had a lead one of Bill's partner's whereabouts and let her know as soon as possible.

Elena and Tyler had decided to talk to Sheriff and let her open up about this situation. But like Damon had said earlier, she wasn't willing to - in fact, she didn't even try to make up a story. Why would she feel the need to do it when there is a deceiving cover story that the entire world has already believed in? Tyler was keeping his distance from everyone, but he wanted to help, deciding to go with Elena to ask the Sheriff. Even so, Elena was more than upset with Tyler. What he did was wrong, no excuse, no reason would justify it.

Liz declining to disclose any information regarding the 2000 incident made them all suspicious about her. Damon and Alaric had continuously asked her but she only grew mad and had snapped at them to never mention it, and so they decided to gang up with Stefan to sneak into the Sheriff's office and go through some files.

The unavailing search for any information related to an incident that took place in 2000 took more than they had thought it would.

They felt guilty to sneak in. Like Damon had said after he proposed the idea, "Desperate times call for desperate measures, brothers." But it had to be done. Not just for Caroline – they too needed to know the truth. Sheriff's secrecy has made them more curious. It's as though her silence meant it's something spiteful – something that went a long way back.

He tried remembering himself of all the crimes that had happened 16 years ago, and yet, he couldn't remember anything big or even the least bit suspicious.

The only thing that was even casted a slight doubt was something that took place on Wickery Bridge - the same bridge Miranda and Grayson's car ran off. But this was an accident and the car did not run off the bridge. A man named Mikael had shot his wife and a man – Ansell – and thrown their bodies into the lake. The case was solved and Mikael was sentenced to life in prison. Damon remembered this a bit. He was only twelve. In Mystic Falls, this was the biggest disaster to ever happen. However, the case seemed to have been solved obviously was nothing to do with Caroline's kidnapping. Then what exactly did happen in 2000?  
Frustrated, he got inside his car with Stefan and Alaric, and just sat still for a long time.

Alaric confronted Carol Lockwood, but as expected, she wasn't willing to share any of it with him either. When asked, Carol's emotions were all over the place – she was afraid, nervous and she looked like she was going to start crying.

Bonnie had taken her leave, one that she was actually saving for next month to spend time with her Grandmother. She explained the situation to her Grams and like she had expected, Sheila understood.

Bonnie had asked her Dad since he was and still is a council member, indirectly if he knew anything significant about 2000 and surprisingly, he was calm about it.

"I don't understand," Bonnie exclaimed as she crashed next to Katherine. "I was so sure it was her."

Elena tilted her head in a sympathetic look. She didn't doubt her best friend, not in this. There may have been a chance that she was mistaken. But she couldn't have been hallucinating, right? Or they could have just moved Caroline somewhere else. Whoever these people are they are smart, that Elena knew for sure.

Besides, if she weren't there they were going to find out now that Katherine and Hayley had decided to take a trip to New Orleans.

"Bonnie," She put her arm over Bonnie's. "I believe you, okay? Look, they may have just hidden her somewhere… It's the only explanation."

"Bon-Bon –"

Katherine tried to cheer Bonnie up, while she sat on the couch, in her living room. Jenna and Alaric were in the kitchen, preparing lasagna. Katherine and Elena had offered to help but Jenna insisted on doing it herself. Everyone was supposed to join them for dinner at the Gilbert house tonight. Damon and Stefan agreed to bring the pasta while Matt decided to bring the salad, which Vicky was supposed to make. However she wasn't joining them. Bonnie got the dessert with her Gram's help.

Katherine had blocked all her Paris contacts for the time being, not wanting to get a headache from the whiny airheads and other designers, like Pearl.

She sighed as she relaxed.

"But Matt said he didn't feel like they were lying." Bonnie protested, the corners of her eyes crinkled.

"Maybe they're good at it. According to Liz this is something that happened sixteen years ago. They must have planned this entire thing very well. Who knows what they could do?" Elena tried to persuade Bonnie.

"Matt's an idiot." Katherine blurted out, ignorantly wrapping a perfect curl around her finger. She widened her eyes and raised her arms, confused when both Elena and Bonnie looked at her with their judging eyes. "What? I'm _un_ serious." She sighed out loudly.

It was then when the door swung open and Matt came in, with a huge smile on his face and the salad bowl covered in foil in his hand. Seeing Katherine there made him realize how much he has missed the mischief-maker and how much he loved her jokes, insults and constant flirting – only for fun.

"Matty-blue-blue!" Katherine yelped motioning him to sit. "God, you look dashing as always."

"Katherine," He said. "Good to see you. And I've missed you so much." Katherine practically ran towards him with open arms which were wrapped around his shoulders the next second. She almost knocked out the Salad he was holding.

"Ow... Not more than I've missed you. And if these two say anything to you about me calling you an idiot, just know that they are lying. They've always envied our friendship." She took the bowl out of his hands and winked at him. "Let me take that."

"What did she mean by that?" Matt asked, pointing his thumb towards Katherine.

"Take a seat, Matt." The corner of Elena's mouth quirked up.

As Katherine followed her way back to the kitchen, she saw Nadia sitting at the kitchen table, watching Ric chop some onions, her chins resting on her little palms, questioning Ric about little things. Her black hair was tied up into a pony tail. Ric kept droning somethings to her as he carried on his slicing. He muttered something that cracked her up, her sweet innocent laughter like a melody that she had ached for a long time. Katherine watched them from a distance, her lips curved up into a faint smile.

"Hey, Katherine," Ric noticed her. "Come on in."

"Yeah –"

"Aunty Kat!" Nadia's blue eyes sparkled, as she hip hoped her way towards Katherine, holding one of her hands. "Mommy says you work with super cool models! Is that true?" She gasped.

"Nadia's is so much into stuff like that, Kat," Jenna turned around from the stove; her strawberry blond hair was tucked up in a bun. "She wants to be a fashion designer, when she grows up. Be on guard when you're around her 'cause that's a mini you." She laughed and got back to her cooking. Katherine nervously laughed.

"What are they like!?" Nadia asked, again.

"Well – umm – they –" She stammered. But then she looked into her deep blue eyes. She smiled to herself. She picked Nadia up and sat her on the kitchen table, and she giggled. "They are very stubborn and difficult. They make me wanna cry, I tell you. It's like looking after babies."

"You don't like babies?" Nadia's eye went round. Katherine held her miniature face in her hands and shook her head whilst she fought back her tears.

"No," She muffled. "I love babies. Especially you."

"But I'm not a baby." She giggled.

Before Katherine could answer, she heard a deep voice behind her that sort of made her heart to jump and annoyed her to the core at the same time. She rolled her eyes.

"The Salvatore brothers are here," He said keeping his charming tone up. He growled silently, as he passed around Katherine's hair purposely, when he kept the Pasta on the dining table.

"Hey man," Ric nodded towards his best friend.

Nadia jumped from the table into Damon's arm and he caught her at the right time. "Uncle Damon! I'm so glad you're here. Where's Uncle Stef?"

"That's right, sweetie, I'm here. Who needs dull uncle Stef when you have the cool one?" He planted a light kiss on her forehead.

Katherine watched them cracking up jokes and laughing. She didn't know she had a weird look on her face that was of course seen by Damon.

"What's your problem?" His eyebrows drew together.

Without saying anything else she disappeared into upstairs, ignoring Jeremy who called her name, leaving all confused.

* * *

The two hyped ladies had stopped at the U.A.L store to get themselves an appropriate and fancy attire for Kol's welcome back party. Shockingly, both of them had enjoyed each other's company while they tried on thousands of dresses until they reached a final one, with each other's help. Rebekah and Caroline had tried thousands of dresses before they reached a final dress. When the dress part was done it was the shoes and when that was done it was all about the bling-bling… It surely was a long day and Kol calling the busy girl shopping did not help speed things up, even a little bit. Since it was New Orleans – and Kol's bash – the party never ends and they could never be late for it.

When they reached the revelry, totally prepared, it was implausibly filled with a million people and yet the two women fared to make an entrance with their girl power; Caroline with her black flowing dress with an illusion neckline. It was tightened at the waist and the rest of the material flowed around and hung just right upon her knees. Rebekah too looked stunning in her wine coloured low plunge neckline dress that was purposely tight, flashing her curves.

And of course, their flawless faces.  
Rebekah grabbed Caroline's hand and kept moving, pushing their way through the crowd until someone's hand slid up to Caroline's waist and pulled her away from Rebekah. He was bald and had a big grin on his face. Caroline's eye brow's rose up and her eyes couldn't have been larger.

"Hey there, sexy," he said in a coarse and deep voice. Caroline looked at Rebekah for some help. But she only kept glaring at the guy, her nose wrinkled.

"You new around here?" He spoke, trying to pull her closer to him. "I think so. Now let's get cracking! What'd you say sweet t–"

"Connor, my mate!" everyone heard the cognizant British accent. It was no other than Kol who had swooped in, with his smug walk. He looked straight into Connor's eyes and smirked, holding a bottle of Bourbon. "Go enjoy yourself and let others –"

"Kol. Come on, man. That's fresh meat and you know howa love fresh meat?"

"And do you know how I love breaking things?" He voice was treacherously calm.

"Ye' you broke ma ankles. Because I hit on your sist…" Conner trailed off, giving Rebekah a tensed look, who raised an eyebrow. "No need to get all fierce about this situation – we're all just havin' fun, in't that right Kol?" He laughed nervously.

"If you don't want it to happen again, you best leave these ladies alone." Kol warned. Without another word, he nodded politely at Kol and dissolved into the dance floor.

"Kol, don't you even think about flirting with Caroline –"

"I couldn't even if I wanted to, Bex. His eyes lit up when he smirked scornfully at Caroline, cocking his head. "Nik's got a thing for her."

"You broke his ankles?" Caroline crossed her arms, trying to change the subject,

"I saved you from espousing a disabled man, Caroline. The least you can do is thank me."

"What?" Caroline's forehead creased, as she looked at him with her sparkling blue eyes. Kol rolled his eyes while putting one of his hands over Caroline's shoulder and the other over Rebekah. He walked through the crowd and asked them to take a seat at the bar.

"I'm glad both of you made it. As promised, you're going to have a fun evening." He motioned the bartender to bring out the drinks. "Drink as much as you want. I'm only giving Bekah a pass because –"

"You're here where you can keep an eye on me?" She squinted her eyes. "As though I'm a baby?"

He pressed his lips together as he poured both of them tequila into their tiny glasses. "Quench your thirst." He smiled. "Pretend I'm not even here. In fact, I'll get a bit away from you both but remember don't overdo it, Bex." He turned around to leave.

"What the hell happened to drink as much as you want, Kol?" Rebekah called out but Kol was too busy to reply to it.

"We are here to forget our sorrows, right?" Caroline smiled at the other blonde beauty.

"Let's drink up."

They raised their glasses and clinked it.

* * *

After a fun dinner at the Gilbert house, Katherine had said good-bye to Elena, Jeremy, Jenna, Ric and Nadia, and left with the Salvatore brothers to their place. The drive had been painful for Katherine because of the older Salvatore sibling, however she was thanful that Stefan had rescued her from Damon's wrath.

"Take this with you," Damon offered her a cell phone, keeping his eyes away from her. They were in his room and every corner of it ached with tonnes of memories.

She remembered what Bonnie had said earlier regarding Damon. About how hurt he was when she left town and the stakes he threw at her direction was enough evidence that he was still hurt and angry. Katherine was fully aware of that hence she felt guiltily sad. Damon was crazy about her since he first met her soon after Stefan started dating Elena. She still remembered how happy he had made her, how he tried so hard to make her smile by giving her gifts, taking her to expensive restaurants and the list of things he did for her sake was endless. And at the end, when her parents died, he had spent most of his time in the hospital, just sat next to her worried that she might wake up in need of something. The fear of that, kept him awake during the night. He barely got out and that too just to shower.

"Damon - "

"Keep your phone on all the time. Text anyone of us if you get into trouble and no Katherining up the situation – go according to the plan – just find anything related to the 2000 crusade while Hayley distracts and vice versa. Do tell Care bear her part in this place because we can't screw up. You through with the story we came up with, right? And the escape plan –"

"Yeah, it's all good." She stood up, facing closely to Damon. He felt weak, his breath caught up in his throat.

No, he screamed at himself. Not again. I can't go through that pain again.

Her hands slowly cupped his face, breathing faster than normal, her thumbs rubbed his cheeks.  
"I need to tell you something –"

"Katherine..." Damon's hands cupped her face as he leaned closer to her, their lips brushing against each other. "You have a..." his hot breath sent shivers through her body, making her want to kiss him at that instant. "... long day ahead of you. Should get started!" He let go of her face, thrusting her hard towards the bed, with an evil smile. She bounced against his bed, lying there for a moment to gather what just happened. She got and shook her head at Damon, irritated, before walking out of his room, tucking the cell phone into her jeans pocket.

She was about to text Hayley, while waiting outside the Salvatore Boarding house, when she showed up, with a backpack on her back.

"I was starting to think that you bailed," Katherine commented while looking at her swollen tummy. She was wearing a little tight shirt, which made her belly appear to its exact size. Wow, she thought. Hayley's too pregnant. She felt awkward, letting Hayley carry the heavy backpack; she made her way towards her and took it from her.

"You know," Hayley wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. "You don't actually have to pretend to care since I know you all hate me so what's stopping you from screwing me over once we're through with this plan?"

"Well, there is one thing stopping me," she muttered opening up the dickey of Hayley's car to put her bag and Hayley's. " _You_ screwed Tyler, and hurt my best friend; we kinda need you to make this work. Otherwise, you'd have to watch your back because I don't care whether you're pregnant or not. As much as I'd love to see you rot - Elena and Bon-Bon's the ones who sealed the deal, therefore, I don't have a say in it. And they don't screw people over - unlike us. Also, didn't you receive enough cash today?"

They could have taken Damon's car but afraid as they were of leading it back to Mystic Falls, they didn't. Now Hayley, had lived most of her life in Oregon, it wouldn't be an issue. At least they hoped it wouldn't. Katherine got into the driver's seat and murmured.

"Gonna stand there all night or, you wanna get in?"

Hayley stood there, hugging herself, thinking. Then she walked towards the car.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5  
** They said she was going to be my undoing...  
...Then let her undo me.

* * *

Their elated uproarious laughter resounded within their ears. Caroline and Rebekah agreed to themselves that, they had never been this drunk in their entire lives. They began with small talks about relationships and the conversation headed towards the paths that lead them to their ultimate heartbreaks and now, they were insulting their ex-boyfriends in a punitive manner – shouting their names and cursing them and then later, laughing hard about it.

Rebekah growled seeing her phone vibrate again. It was definitely Klaus's thousandth call and she had ignored it like the rest of it. She sipped down her glass empty and slammed the it hard. "Oh, he is a saad tedious egotistic waaanker!"

"Huh?" Caroline asked, not sure what Rebekah was referring to. When on taking up Caroline's glass, she was surprised to find it empty at last. "You! Come 'ere." Caroline yelped at the handsome bartender, Aaron, who attentively looked at Caroline and then down at the table, shaking his head with a faint smile. He walked towards the two gorgeous ladies, his smile still attached on his face.

"What more can I do for you ladies?"

Rebekah snickered, her eyes were half opened, as she rested her head, on her right palm, while drawing circles on the table with her free hand. "For starters," she went on. "Get rid of this bloody music – that soun's like a traaaffffic car accident aand givus some'ing that is more..." she hummed, searching for the right words in her dozing mind. "Listenjoyable."

"And!" Caroline screeched, pointing her index finger at him, startling Aaron, who scoffed, eyes widened. She cocked her head and licked her lips, the lights from the chandelier reflecting in her teary eyes. "Get me another drink."

He giggled. "I don't think so."

"Give usss another drink!" Rebekah warned him, banging hard on the table.

"I think you've had too much," He smiled throwing the napkin over his shoulder. "Whom should I call on your behalf…?"

"H – h – h – h – h – heyyyyyyy!" Caroline squealed. "Sssheeeriously, happy guy, what are you naww? The beer police!? Weee are the soberest. Sobbersh…?" She turned to Rebekah with a frown of bafflement and all she got in return was a shrug by the other blonde, asking her to continue. "And thereee is I – wait wait wait – noooo waaaaan to call! You know why? Beecause I don't live here! Oh my god, I doon't live here. Thiss isss naaaaaat my hooome, you understand!? So – so get us another drink – or I will report you! To – to – the Queen of England!" Caroline slurred, jabbing a finger into Aaron's chest, who chuckled listening to more of their intimidations.

Their empty petulant threats came to a halt when Kol interrupted them.

"Ohholy," he muttered in slow motion, leaning against the bar, looking at Caroline and then at Rebekah through narrowed eyes. "Nik's going to bloody murder me." He realized what a bad idea it was to invite both of them to his party. Honestly he had never thought they would end up getting so drunk!

Aaron then moved on to serve the other customer.

"You can tell – _Nik_ to go to hell! Beecause THAT is where hell be going anyway! Oh! Aand they don't serve tea in there! So you should behave better than him!"~ Caroline said, poking on his forehead, thrice. She slowly turned around and continued. "And I jonch care about that stupid stuck-up Brattish maan with the mooost annoying –" all of a sudden she spun around and was facing Kol, whose eyes were widened at this point due to her actions. "British accent that makes me wanna just – just… You know what, Ken is it?"

"It's Kol, but please," He faked a smirk on his handsome face, holding the bottle of bourbon across his chest. "Call me whatever."

"Kol! Oh yes… I knew that. You – no – _I_ deserve a reward for not killing him!" She squawked yet again, kneading her fist into her palm. The shriek staggered Rebekah who had almost passed out.

Rebekah quietly murmured, "Ugh! Soomebody for heaven's sake… Put ssoome miiiuuuusic onn…"

"You know what, Bex, I have a better idea. Why don't we all go home –"

Without another say, Caroline simply growled and snatched the bottle of bourbon from Kol, sloshing it a little bit on his shirt but he didn't seem to mind it. She quickly climbed up the bar and asked Aaron to put on some good music. He hesitated a little bit, but she kept insisting until he allowed it.

"Caroline," Kol hissed. "What are you doing?"

Caroline ignored him and got ready to get this party started – for real. She took several gulps from the bottle she was holding before she handed it over to Rebekah who started cheering up along with the crowd, while she sat on her stool, swaying. The next instant, it was Rebekah slugging it down her throat.

"Get down." Kol put both his arms on his hips and tried to sound convincing. "Or I'll –"

But he was cut short, when Caroline started dancing to the loud music that seemed to have caught the attention of every single individual.

"What – no, no, no," He said, louder than the two previous attempts to get her attention. "Get down," he tried grabbing her, but the girl was enjoying the music way too much, she managed to flout Kol, leaving him all nervous that the bar started looking more packed and noisy to him.

A guy next to him bawled out, "She's got moves!" and Kol shot him a death glare, as he knew his older brother would obviously kill him for this.

"Shut up!" He snapped at the guy.

This was Caroline – a girl Klaus took hostage from Mystic Falls in an effort to complete a mission. This girl was supposed to be kept secret, and he only meant to let them have a fun evening and decided to have them home by 11 pm, sharp. Seemingly, the evening did not go according to his plan, as she was now dancing on the table top, fully exposed in a bar with hundreds of people – and it was already 11 O'clock! Also, now that Klaus had taken a liking to Caroline, he knew his big brother would be fuming with rage for letting her dance in a drunken state.

Also their little sister! Rebekah has always been protected by her older brothers, it was only Kol who offered her little freedom and he regretted doing it tonight because his sister has never been that wasted in her entire life! This was absolutely not good for him, or her. He felt really guilty and, that moment, whilst she was cheering to Caroline, he swore to himself that, this was indeed the last time he would ever give her a pass. He felt miserable.

It was then when Kol's phone rang, and an utter distress ran through him by seeing the caller ID – it was Klaus. Unenthusiastically, he picked up the call, his eyes squeezed shut.

* * *

He drove as quickly as he could to Rousseau's and upon entering, he stood still at the doorway, as if his eyes were deceiving him. It was Caroline. Dancing on the table top, while the crowd around her cheered! He had to admit, she looked so beautiful in her black dress, twirling to the loud music – in front of quite an awful lot of people! Rage ran through him, as he acknowledged that most of it were men, looking at her in ways Klaus did not want to fathom out. He didn't care why it made him so upset, he just knew what he was feeling at the moment and he could have sworn that he had never been this mad about anything for years – certainly not for the same reason – for someone. The same someone who was always on his mind, since their first encounter.

He walked towards the crowded area of the bar, and caught his little sister crying out in enjoyment, along with the rest of the people. Behind her was Kol, pulling her arms, trying to get her to stand up. His anger doubled.

He reached there, pushing people away with more force than required. Some were very annoyed, but when they realized who he was, it immediately hushed them up and they willingly backed off.

"What is the meaning of this!?" He shot at Kol, who was taken by surprise as he was not aware of Klaus' arrival.

"Nik," Kol said, not trying to come up with an excuse. "You can rip me to bloody shreds or stuck a dagger in my chest – whatever method you find it more fitting to kill me, I'll happily agree to it. Believe me – I'm not so proud of myself either right now – but let's get these two out of here first, and then we can go back to it. What do you say?"

Kol put Rebekah's arm around his shoulder and pulled her up and started walking towards the door.

He looked up at Caroline, forcefully grabbing her arm and pulling her down. Even when she tried to resist it, he was too damn strong for her. She strained to push him using her legs but he quickly put his arms around her waist and held her arm, pulling her down to the floor before she could do anything to requite. He realized how light and tiny she was. Caroline cussed at him, silently, although he heard every single one of it and yet he replied her with his smug smile because he knew it annoyed her.

"We are going back." He announced, keeping his smirk firm on his face. Caroline blinked several times, trying not to think how handsome he was. Everything about him was alluring. His gaze, his smile, his touch... Her legs were so weak that she could barely stand.

This was the first time they were this close. And it drove him nuts. Even when he did his best to ignore the gravitation towards her. If anything, it had more effect on him than it did on her. He had the sudden urge to pull her even closer and hold on to her, lean over and kiss her. His smirk had faded. What is happening to him? He knew it wasn't only the fear of her exposure that lead him here. There was something else... Something he didn't want to admit. But what was it? Was it fear? Was he scared that something might happen to her? Or maybe he was afraid that someone will notice her and she'll be taken away from him back to Mystic Falls. Like... Like... He didn't want to lose her. And she wasn't even his.

His hands slowly slid down to her waist and as much as she tried to ignore the effect it had on her, the more it reminded her of it. Her heart began pounding against her chest and both of them felt the attractions again for a fleeting trice.

The feelings around which he had been building walls, started falling apart, crashing down into tiny pieces and it was then, when Klaus realized the truth, the mystery was now solved and the answer that appeared vividly before him, terrified him to the core. He had fallen for her. The butterflies in his stomach, cannot be murdered.

"O – oh," Her voice was shaky. She tried to push him by his chest, but he wouldn't even flinch. "Says who!?"He took her arm in a firm clasp.

"I did." He began walking with her, and now the table top had a new dancer and everyone gathered around again, making it easier for them to walk out.

"Narcissist," she murmured. "And why should I eeeven listen to a fricken fricken loooooser!?" She yelped.

"Because, Caroline," he said reaching out to the door. "You have no choice."

"I have a choice! And I choose not to listen to you."

"I'm afraid that's not a choice."

"Whyyyy? Ugh! Gerroffmee!" She cried. "You little dick!"

When Caroline said the last words, they were already out of the bar and the only people that occupied the road were, Kol, Rebekah, Caroline and Klaus.

Klaus was not offended by any of her comments, for these were not as bad as the things she said to him whilst he was getting her off the table. It was rather witty, and he would have at least smiled if he wasn't so damn furious about the twirling in her short, revealing dress.

It didn't make sense. None of this does. Caroline is not his to either be obsessed or be possessive about. But the problem was he is and has been for a long time. It made him angry at her for making him feel this way. He always wanted to be around her and he no longer had control over it.

Kol's eyes widened in shock as he strained to fathom what Caroline had said, and he tried holding back his laughter but he botched.

"Oh, jeez," he mumbled out. "Did she –"

"That's enough, Kol," Klaus shot Kol one of his best intense glares, trying to show his little brother how truly upset he was. "Get our sister home –"

"ButIdunwannagohome!" Rebekah squealed jerking her hand away from Kol, but he grabbed it again.

"See!" Caroline hopped up. "See that Klaus!? No one here wants to go home besides you! So you know who should go? You!" She tried to break free of his grip, however, Klaus had held her firmly but not enough to hurt her. "So I - no no no _you_ lose. Besides! It's noot even Christmas yet, Santa Klaus. So why donchu just leavus alone and ho ho go!" She chuckled, still hopping. She was definitely not making much sense, she herself didn't know what she was talking about, but the way she said it made Kol laugh.

"Oh my god," Kol sighed, beguiled by the entertainment.

"Sweetheart," he raised his voice, looking hopelessly at the tiny adorable angel, standing next to him.

"Don't sweetheart me you asshole!" She shrieked and Klaus could hear Kol snickering at her comments towards Klaus as no other, drunk or sober, ever dared to insult him that way. Or any other way. Kol was certainly enjoying this –– a part of him felt like his big brother would just snap at Caroline or at least wanted to, however something was holding him back. It's as if he couldn't.

Kol's smirk grew into a grin as he observed Caroline – not in a bad way though. "She's a reckless one, isn't she?" Kol mocked.

"I don't like you!" She pointed her index finger at Klaus, threatening him. Then her finger followed and pointed at Kol who was still trying his level best to hide his amusement. This was certainly entertaining – he felt like he should record this. "I like you! You – you – you let me come 'ere and haave fun – but you!" She pointed at Klaus, growling with despair. "You ruined the fun! You're such a jerk! A jackass! A – a – a —"

"Your idea of fun is not appropriate –"

"Shut up, Klaus!" She roared.

"Yeah Nik," Rebekah joined, tapping her shoes on the ground multiple times. "Shut up."

Klaus narrowed his eyes at Rebekah and then at Kol before gesturing to take Rebekah away, so they all could go home and get this horrid night over with.

"Love, you are not in your right mind now."

Klaus literally dragged Caroline, while she struggled, by smacking and punching his back, arm, shoulders and wherever possible. However, it didn't stop him. He opened the door to his car and pushed her in gently, as she whined like a baby, hitting lightly against the window, crying out loud.

Drama queen, he thought wryly.

* * *

Liz Forbes had been standing at the doorway of her daughter's room for longer than she could guess. After moments of hesitation, she slowly walked inside, frightened as if she'd face a monster. She looked right at the table that had photographs. Caroline with Elena and Stefan on their engagement night. At the Salvatore house with Katherine and Damon. One with Bonnie in her car and another one in which Matt was giving her a friendly hug. Tyler kissing her on the cheeks. In every single picture, Liz could quite plainly sense the bliss through their cheerful smiles and it broke her heart a little bit.

No one would truly understand how much Caroline's absence hurt and it was legit destroying her little by little. Nothing had wounded and terrified her more. What pained the most was, her lies had caught up to her own daughter. Caroline is paying for the sins committed by her mother and she doesn't even know what it is.

She looked at the bed that hasn't been slept for four nights now. Liz ran a hand on it, pressing her lips together, resisting the urge to dissolve in tears and yet her heart burnt tremendously. On the bedside table were a lamp and a picture frame of her and Caroline, on Graduation day. She picked it up and gazed into it, even after her vision blurred with tears. They were smiling. They were happy. She broke into sobs, sitting herself down on the floor.

The sound of her ringing phone alarmed her. Her first prediction was the kidnapper calling for updates on Bill and she feared as she had no news. Quickly, she took out her phone, wiping her tears, and her heart fastened its effort when she saw it was Logan Fell.

"Have you –" She exclaimed.

"Yes." His reply was short.

"Where!?"

"I reached out to one of his companions and he said – very circuitously – that he'll talk to Bill."

"When!?"

"I'm not sure –"

"I don't have time!" She shrieked, truly irritated and unhappy with his progress. "It's Caroline. My daughter! She's in danger, because of us! You, me and everyone in this damn council! I swear if anything happens to her, I'll rat all of us out!" And she meant it.

"Calm down, Liz," Logan tried to relax her. "Look, I'm doing the best I can. Your husband's good. He's been laying low for over a decade and no one knows where he is or what he does. It'll take time. Be patient."

"Like I'd been sixteen years ago?"

"Liz…"

"Fine. I'll wait." She said. "Thank you, Logan."

"Take care of yourself, please?"

* * *

Caroline had woken up with a monstrous headache. This was far by the worst hangover she had ever endured. It felt like someone was squeezing her skull. She spend a fair amount of time rolling around on her bed before gaining all the energy needed to lift her up for a shower.

The response was instant, the metallic head that hung tightly above her spread water unto her body, gradually comforting the banging in her head. She stood in the shower for a long time, making the water do its job, to soothe her. The headache started to boot out, only to be filled with memories of last night. Embarrassing ones. Her eyes suddenly opened.

She brought her clasped hands to her mouth as the water dripped down her eyes, lips, hands and further. "Oh, no…"

 _She wrapped her hands around Klaus' neck, bringing him closer to her, a naughty look on her face. Klaus looked as puzzled as he was._

 _"Rebekah told me you haven't had sex for over a year," she playfully chuckled, lifting an eyebrow. Drunken Caroline was so direct._

 _Klaus couldn't believe his ears - there she was, Caroline, the girl who was responsible for the butterflies that fluttered in his stomach, pulling him towards her, as she herself came closer. He frowned. It was hard to believe this was happening._

 _He started feeling weak, and then he knew this was more than just a physical attraction. Because, as tempting as this situation was, all he wanted was to get away. It was wrong. She was drunk and he couldn't take advantage of her._

 _"Caaaroline..." he said, removing her hands and holding them together. He locked his eyes in hers, trying to make her understand. "You'll take a shower and after that, you will go to sleep, do you understand me, love?" He tried to sound convincing. To her and for himself._

 _"Mmm-hmm," her playful giggle made Klaus smile. "You_ – _you wanna join me? In the shower? And later in bed?"_

 _And his smile, it faded again. Holy... The way it sounded on her lips made Klaus shudder in tempt. There was nothing more he would rather do, but this isn't the time._

 _He needed to understand what falling for someone means. He needed to figure it out himself… And as for Caroline... Well, she most likely despised him. He is her kidnapper, end of story... Nothing could ever happen between them and this thought disturbed him._

 _He wondered whether Caroline would have liked him, if they had met under different circumstances... Maybe if their lives were... Normal. They could have had a normal future..._

 _He shook his head, and acted like a grownup instructing a child. "Sweetheart, you are very drunk –"_

 _"So?" she said in a carefree manner and a shrug. "I know you want to, Klaus."_

 _She got closer to him, making him weaker by every move she made. Caroline freed her hands from Klaus's weakened grips, placing them on his stomach, feeling his firm muscles, before it trailed to either side and roughly pulled him towards her. His heart sank and a thousand emotions stormed inside him, and at one moment, he was sure he was going to implode. No one has ever made him feel this way before. He was losing control, his eyes half closed. Involuntarily, his hands travelled to her hips and stroked it lightly against the fabric of her dress._ _He wanted this, and so did her intoxicated mind._

 _She looked into his eyes before it stopped at his lips. All she could think about was, how much she needed to kiss them. And she kept moving closer and closer..._

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" She held the side of her head, looking at the mirror. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! What... This!? I – NO! What were you thinking Caroline!?" She growled, loudly, covering her face with both hands. "What have I done!?"

Her small blue eyes were so round all of a sudden, as the humiliating memories of her drunken acts kept torturously glinting. She walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her dripping body, as she took a pink top and a pair of blue jeans, and started wearing it at a slow pace, not really paying much attention to anything but the previous night...

 _Klaus managed to pull himself out of the compelling trance, jerked his hands away and pulled away hers from him, before their lips touched._

 _"You will do exactly as I say, Caroline," his voice was harshly quiet but filled with compulsion and power. "Now, go take a shower before I get angry. You seem to have forgotten that I am a dangerous man, and so cannot guarantee you'll be in once piece if you defy me. Now, Caroline!" His tone made Caroline to back off a little, because it had triggered the terror that was starting to dwindle on its own. He had transformed from water to ice – just like that. His stare made her feel like he would snap her neck, any moment now. The sexual tension building inside her had vanished._

 _He regretted it the moment those hostile words left his mouth, as he saw the fear building up in her eyes,_ again _. He hasn't seen it for a while, never since she set foot in his house._

He thought about her all night long. Why had he lashed out at her like that?

Because he was scared. He was so scared that he had fallen for someone. He never knew what love beyond family was, but now it was standing in front of him – terrifying him. And he wasn't going to run from it or going to push her away… He was done wrestling his feelings as it were clear as crystals.  
But what will she do? Run away from him? Or toward him?

Caroline was starting to make him overthink a lot of things. His plan for instance… Was it fair for her? Isolated from her family and friends? Kept a thousand miles apart from her home? But he was doing this for _his_ family. He needs to get his brother out from jail. Finn has been suffering for a crime he did not commit. It was only Bill who could get him out… But what if there was another way? A way they all got what they wanted without hurting anyone in the process?

Klaus entered Caroline's room without knocking. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, and stood up. There were so many things she wanted to say, but her breath caught up in her throat by seeing him, dressed up in a suit. He was... so handsome.

"Hello, love." He smirked, swaying on his feet towards her. "Just... Wanted to see whether you were okay before I left."

"You going somewhere?"

"Yes," He said, calmly. "I have an old building I need to check out."

She nodded, disappointed that he was leaving as she wished to spend the day with him, which was unsettling, given last night's events. With Klaus out there in the city, it was like an adventure! She felt free. Seeing new places, letting her play with the flowers in the garden and eating at expensive restaurants... Even though it was just once, it had made an impact in her life. These were the things she never had the chance to do. She enjoyed him as he did her. And sometimes, Klaus flirted with her – she liked it, although she knew he was joking. At least that's what she told herself. But sometimes... With him around it feels real. With him, it felt safe and wasn't supposed to.

But she hasn't forgotten last night. How he had snapped at her, it scared her. A little.

"You still haven't answered my question, love?" He cocked his head and smiled.

"What?"

"Are you alright?"

"Oh," she murmured threading a hand through her hair. "Yes – I'm okay. Just a little tired. I took those so I should be fine..." she pointed at the green bag on the table next to the arm chair. It had some stuff for hangovers, surely Klaus must have left them there last night.

He nodded, and bowed his head down. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out at first.

"Caroline..."

He stopped, and looked up at her. She was waiting for him to say it.

"Last night I..."

"Okay, about that," she chuckled. "I was drunk! Very drunk and – and wasn't thinking straight and said so many needless things," she pointed her index finger at him whilst he stayed confused. " _Which_ was inadvertent so you can't hold me responsible for my drunken performance because I have an awful reputation when it comes to that. So." She inhaled loudly.

Klaus shook his head, smirking. He opened his mouth and then closed it, still amused.

"I was actually referring to the things _I_ said to you," he continued in a mocking tone, jamming his hand in his front pocket. "But your story seems far too intriguing. Let's hear more about it. Go on." He looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

Caroline bit her lips. This happens when people don't have patience and well, don't know how to shut up! She mentally slapped herself.  
Caroline remained silent, rubbing her hands on her thighs, trying to figure out what to say.

"I said somethings... I didn't mean. I... Shouldn't have. I threatened you, after I promised that I wouldn't harm you in anyway. I want you to know that... I didn't mean it. I would never hurt you Caroline. And you don't have to worry about it."

Klaus was trying to apologize for his threat. At least in his way, which was very indirect. It was a miracle he even felt sorry for this. He felt disturbed and wanted Caroline to know that he wasn't a dangerous man, like he had said earlier.

"Oh..." She murmured, locking her eyes in his. She tilted her head to a side and nodded. "Yeah for a minute there, I thought you were gonna rip me apart." She joked.

"And if you hadn't felt that way, you would have been all over me, so I think you should be thanking me."

Caroline shook her head, embarrassed by his accusation. She could feel her cheeks burning in red.

"Okay, you –" she stammered. "Are too arrogant and that's not fair, considering the fact that I was –"

"Drunk. So you have mentioned, love."

"And if I weren't drunk, I wouldn't have done that. So, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, sweetheart." He clasped his hands behind his back, his smug smile still remained on his face. "We both know you would have."

"Seriously?" She gave a mirthless laughter. "God, why are all the Mikaelsons soooo vain. Hey – I've morals _and_ control over myself okay? It's not just going to change despite the way you look." She nibbled on her bottom lip as soon as she said those.

"The way I look?" He arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. Are you, by any chance, trying to say that I look attractive?"

"Or the exact opposite." She quickly added.

"Well, it didn't sound like the opposite."

She stood still, smiling at him, adoring how handsome he looked when he flashed his dimples at her. How good it felt being around him.

"Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Why didn't you... do something or... let something happen?"

"Do you wish for something to have happened, sweetheart, is that it?" he half smiled, looking directly at her andCaroline realized how bad it actually sounded out of her head.

Caroline blushed immediately, and that made Klaus chuckle a bit.

"No! I –" She kneaded her shoulders. "Just asking. It's that – you – haven't... for a year," he shot her a glance and clenched his jaw. "And you're a guy!" She added quickly, not wanting him to get annoyed at her for saying that. "Anyone would have. Or most of them... I..." She trailed off. He studied her for a second or two, but she didn't realize that.

Caroline started growing anxious because of the deafening silence. Has she angered him again? His temper scared her, even if she had seen it just once. Her heart started beating erratically, as she tried to understand what must be going in his mind right now. Maybe she shouldn't have asked him that. It was a stupid question anyway. Obviously, she was not his type and not attractive enough. He didn't like her, not that way. Why hadn't she thought of that before? Maybe, because she wanted his answer to be different.

"I didn't want you to wake up in the morning and hate yourself." His voice was soft but it came piercing through her.

She froze.

"Well, then... I'll take my leave, love." He smiled at her kindly, before heading towards the door. "I'll be back within three hours. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, Bekah, Elijah or our maid Ayanna. Just..." He opened the door and held it with his hand, narrowing his eyes. "Don't talk to Kol too much. He tends to lose it when he's around beautiful woman." He then closed the door behind him.

She still stayed at the same spot, not moving a muscle.

* * *

"Bill?" Liz Forbes talked into her cell phone.

At the other end of the line, Bill's heart sank by hearing her voice –– the only voice he had longed to hear for the past years they were separated. The joy of knowing it was her had him thrilled leaving him speechless.

Old memories flickered with just her saying his name, that made him want to see her even more and be with her, like before and be happily married again. And then as the trip down the memory lane made its stop at their besmirched times, tainted with dirt, he agreed with the impossibility. Also, he knew they were no longer in love as they both went separate ways and he had more important things too, than his family.

"Bill? Is that you?" He sensed the tension in her voice as it shook. "Please say something... I – I have something important to tell you."

"Yes, Liz," he finally spoke, pushing inside his feelings that kept trying to pour out. "It's me. John Gilbert told me you wanted to talk to me about something. What's so urgent?"

"It's Caroline, Bill..." She sobbed, shaking her head from side to side. "She's been kidnapped."

"What!?" He yelped. "What – how? Who took her?"

"I'm not exactly sure. He wants _you,_ Bill." She finally told him, sitting down on her couch. Everything in that house reminded her of Caroline. Liz hadn't had time to take out all the decorative items off, as it was usually Caroline who would have done it.

"Oh..." He said, silently thinking. "Me?"

"If you hadn't done anything else, I'm sure we have only one common enemy." Liz said.

"Mikaelsons," Bill muttered. "You received a call from one? Was it a man?"

"I don't know," Liz uttered. "The voice was edited… Just be here in Mystic Falls when they call next time."

"When will that be?"

"How should I know!?" Liz snapped. "Just get down here and give whatever it is that they want, because Caroline is more important than anything!" She literally screamed, making her throat scratch a little.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I'll be there by tomorrow morning Liz..." he replied. "How is she?"

"Five days ago she threw me a birthday party. She must have forced everyone to go through with her plan to make it perfect and it was perfect. Just like her. She also got me a dog, Bill..." She said, looking at the dog resting below the couch. "She is exactly how we wanted her to be; caring and always putting everyone else before her," she laughed a bit and her breath caught up in her throat. "Today... I don't know."

"She'll be fine. She has to be. She's strong too, Liz. Our Caroline is strong."

"I can't live without her..."

"And you won't have to... I promise."

"I'll wait for you. You can stay at my place until all this blows over."

"Thanks. Goodbye, Liz. See you soon."

After a moment of silence, they both hung up.

* * *

Dust rose like dry fog as Matt dropped the heavy looking stack of large files on the desk, letting a tired grunt escape. Giving him a perplexed look, Tyler took out the file on top while Jeremy took the one below, exploring through it.

"What's this, _Deputy_?" Tyler asked, holding the black file in the air.

"That's the stuff you both asked from me last night." he sat on the couch across from his two best friends. Matt pinched the bridge of his nose seeing the three empty bottles of beers and a dozen new ones.

"You mean, about the Mikaelsons?" Jeremy questioned, giving both an inquisitive stare.

Matt had spent all morning in the Sheriff's office with Damon, looking for those specific files. There were five files about their crime records, two criminals from their family and three other individuals who had fallen victims to them. He also dug up almost everything he could about the entire Mikaelson family – the siblings, their jobs, criminal records and their parents. As soon as he gathered them, he made his way to the Lockwood Mansion, as Tyler had said he was there with Jeremy – moping about Caroline. Tyler and Jeremy volunteered to hunt for any relevant information that can be used against the Mikaelson family to free Caroline out of their clutches, just in case their current plan backfires. They needed to be prepared for everything. They have to have a backup plan.

"Here," He handed them another file, slightly thinner than the rest of it. "Is a file about their whole family, starting from Mikael Mikaelson and Esther Mikaelson. They had seven children, altogether, but it seems that only five are out in the world. One locked up and the eldest sibling just disappeared when she was very young and – it's all a mystery. I haven't really had much time to engage in further research yet, but I'm sure you can manage." He smiled at both of them. "There's more, so..."

"Yeah, whatever to get Caroline back, man." Tyler gave him a friendly nod.

"Hopefully, we'll come across a weakness and use it against them," Jeremy explored further, looking at a picture of a woman, presumably in her mid to late 40's with long blond hair and brown eyes. He read the name below her picture to himself, _Esther Mikaelson._ "As a backup plan…" he said outloud, going through the pages.

"Alright." Matt blew out his cheeks, getting up from the couch. "Find something valuable. And try to stay sober. Both of you."

* * *

Thank you so much for the reviews.  
❤❤


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6  
** Can we believe all that we read, all that we tell you?  
What we perceive to be the truth  
and what is real,  
Leaving you scraping at the bottom of the barrel,  
Nothing is broken or forgotten that's the deal.  
 _\- Gabrielle Aplin_

* * *

"Alright." Matt blew out his cheeks, getting up from the couch. "Find something valuable. And try to stay sober."

"So, I leave Mystic Falls for just two weeks and," a charismatic cheery voice hovered from the doorway and everyone turned their attention to the figure leaning against the door, casually, and munching the junk food he held in his hand. "You guys already got our Cavalry kidnapped. Is that irresponsible or what? I guess I should never leave this town, I mean, it's as if I'm the knight in shining armor, you know? Like, I leave and… _Very_ bad things happen and there's no one to stop them." He said whilst hastily tossing the packet of pork rind on the side table and slowly wavered, beaming towards the three men who were noticeably glad to see him. "Hey – you got any good jam in here?" His forehead puckered for a second before he held out his arms as he plastered a mischievous grin on his face.

"Kai. Good to see you, man." Matt welcomed him with a one-armed bro hug and Kai nodded in response, wiggling his eyebrows at the other two men who had leaped to join the conversation. They had surely missed their best friend, who had just returned from his visit to Oregon, after seeing his older sister Jo and her newborn twins. Oregon used to be Kai's home for seventeen years. Until he decided to move as far away as he could from his vicious father, Joshua and his ways and means of torture in order to protect himself and his younger two siblings. Soon after his relocation, Joshua was sentenced to life in prison for assassinating the Mayor of Atlanta. The Parkers didn't want anything to do with Joshua and though they came from a rich family, they proudly neglected the heirloom money, and instead found a way to get through life by earning it themselves. Kai owns an auto repair shop in Mystic Falls.

"How's your sister?" Tyler kindly asked Kai.

"Oh, you know, a little fat," Kai creased up at his pun moving towards the table of files. He took one and waved it in the air as he continued yammering. "Little would be an understatement, guys. And she didn't take it very well when I broke it to her. I don't know what that was about. But, she's healthy and so are the twinsies so. I'm actually very happy. For her. The babies were beautiful; I never wanted to leave them until everyone called to inform me about Caroline. I was on my way back here when I realized that I'm an uncle now, which is… weird. I feel old… Does being an uncle make me old? Oh! Did I mention? The boy baby looks exactly like me!" He dropped the file and it landed on the table with a clunk. "I mean, how cool is that? I think I'm starting to believe in reincarnations." and before anyone could react to his endless yapping, he adjusted the lapels of his jacket and let out a harsh breath. "Anyway, I – Uh – am here for our close friend, Goldilocks. You know the one who never shuts up?"

"I'm pretty sure that's you, Kai." Jeremy snickered leaving the others scorning at Kai for his joke. He made his way and took a seat at the table.

"Ha-ha. Very funny guys," Kai leaned back on the chair next to Jeremy, still eyeing the files. "Damon filled me in about almost everything. Except, he didn't say anything about being deskbound in your study," he pointed at Tyler. "Instead of going out there and doing something about the whole thing. Are we hiding? From someone?" He then looked down at the files again, shaking his head. "Seriously, what is with all these mess?"

"We are going to find something – anything related to the Mikaelson family." Tyler explained.

"Man, the Mikaelsons. They used to be my role model." He gasped, moving forwards and clenched his hands together, sitting straight. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Just digging their history, trusting that we'd find something useful that can be used against them. Like a backup plan, in case something goes wrong with Kat's plan." Matt said. "I have to go, guys. Good luck." he gave a polite nod before leaving the room.

"Goodbye, Detective!" Kai called out after him and saluted Matt.

Tyler covered his face with both his hands, after seating across both his friends. He was a bundle of nerves these days, trying to cork up his feelings into a meaning. He's wronged Caroline and he couldn't take it back or the very least – apologize. The untainted sensation of remorse was destroying him.

"Hey, man," Kai placed a hand on his friend's shoulder as reassurance and muttered his thoughts. "We'll get her back, okay? And then you can spend the rest of your life, begging for her forgiveness, which we both," he gave a quick slap on Jeremy's arm, "Will enjoy, very much."

Tyler rubbed his hands together, as humiliation dawned his face. "You know?"

"Yyep!" He cried, turning the laptop on and grabbing a pencil from the holder. "I just had a little talk with Bon an' Lena at the Salvatore house. They told me you got some girl up the duff. Man, they were _furious_ with you," He scoffed. "So am I but, I think right now, it'd be better if we focus on what Deputy Donovan tasked us to do, hm? And – where the hell is my jam, man?"

* * *

With a steaming mug of awfully thick black coffee, her all-time hangover cure, Caroline marched up the marble stairs of the mansion. None of the Mikaelsons were in sight so she decided to explore a bit. She kept thinking why they needed all this space and settled with the thought of Klaus the arrogant just doing his job. She wasn't envious but deep inside she knew simplicity was her way of life. They were on different chapters, Klaus and her, but she could do nothing but think of him. Must be all the vodka she drained, she thought to herself as she reached the huge balcony on the top floor.

She didn't know it then but from the start, he had had an impact on her that she would never be able to forget. Like a flower in the darkness, she had slowly begun to bloom under his love. Their worlds were different, but she never thought that her feelings could be this confused for a guy like him. Sure, he was everything a girl could want from his look to his treasures but Caroline knew she would end up with a small town boy and live a small town life and all this would be a dreamt fantasy.

Caroline opened the screen door to the balcony. The sunlight was too bright for her eyes to adjust with the intensity, so she turned around and bumped into a figure. Her coffee splattered on both of them, and they soaked right through her shirt.

"What the –" She began, eyeing Kol furiously.

"Well, you just disappeared. I came down to tell you I made breakfast. Or what looks like it." He gave a smug grin and cleared his throat. "Anyway, you took me down with you." he pointed down to his shirt.

"You didn't have to sneak behind me like the stalker you are." She said, and walked past Kol up the bathroom to get cleaned up.

"Don't forget breakfast." She heard Kol yell before she slammed the door.

* * *

"This is breakfast?" She looked down her plate to a lumpy yellow mess of eggs, cheese and what looked like dried-up parsley.

"That's the best I could do. Besides, I had to make up for last night. More dressing with those eggs?" He raised a syrup bowl.

"Seriously." she stated, pressing her lips to a tight line. Hadn't she chugged a lake of bourbon last night, she would have cared to consider making her own breakfast, but she had no choice but to shovel it down.

"Bex, it's time you came down." Kol called as Caroline looked up from her plate to a figure of what used to be Rebekah.

Her straight blonde hair was stuck up in a tangled mess on top of her head with damp loose strands at the sides. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face was pale and she wore a dazzled expression on her face. She had not changed from last night's crimson dress. Giving Kol 'the look', she shoved past him into the kitchen. "I need brewed mint tea." She muttered, a ghost of a smile graced her lips as she glanced at Caroline for a second.

"Oh don't worry sister I'm at your service today. Told the maids so." Kol said, grabbing a tea pot. He rummaged through the refrigerator finding the tea ingredients as Rebekah planted herself on a kitchen stool next to Caroline who was stuffing her face.

"Easy, there, darling. Nik would want you to have a slimmer waist than those are gonna give you." Kol mumbled, giving Caroline a haughty look. She sputtered, returning his look with a dirty one.

"What are you talking about?" she knew exactly what Kol meant causing the prompt pulsation against her chest.

"Kol, my tea," Rebekah gave him an alerted look.

"Well," he continued, clearly ignoring the hint. "Nik's never brought anyone to our home. But I'm sure you aren't just anyone to him. Not anymore." He snickered at his own joke.

"What the bloody hell is taking you so long, Kol? Give me my damn tea or I will text the last girl you slept with and tell her you are looking for something serious." She meant it.

Kol placed the mason mug of tea in front of her with an annoyed simper.

"Again...what?" Caroline asked.

"Kol is just being Kol. But I believe what he's trying to say is, our complacent brother fancies you." Rebekah said, guzzling on her tea. "Nik's not one known for having this pleasant attitude towards anyone, and recently I caught him being nice to one of the guards."

"And we're accusing you of his changed behavior, darling. I mean, it's as though you casted a magical spell that altered him straightaway," Kol sat himself across the two ladies and began eating his breakfast and yet he managed to keep his smirk on.

"The only woman, my brother has been involved was some little twit named Tatia. He's never brought her to any one of our homes and if I remember correctly, he treated her like crap and she'd go crying back to Elijah who'd idiotically embrace her and well, let's just say it did not end that well for him." She cleared her throat, glancing at Kol who was no longer smiling.

"That went on for over six bloody years and it was one hell of a surprise turn of events, when she fell in love with Elijah," Kol put down his fork and stared into space. "And he fell in love with her, but of course, she could not stop loving Nik and decided it'd be best if she left altogether." He leaned forward, his stare firm on Caroline who was listening to his story with a stern curiosity. "See, Nik has never known love other than family, but with you it's different isn't it? I think he's falling in love with you."

"What!? No, I… I don't think so –" Caroline was interrupted.

"Fine. But don't say we didn't warn you when you become our sister in law, because," He smirked but his eyes were too serious for him. "Nik usually gets what he wants."

Caroline did notice the slight difference in his tone but it couldn't be true. She doubted it. It was just Kol playing with her and she was not going to fall for this statement. She let out a sick sign and polished off her plate.

* * *

After the breakfast, Henrik had joined the three of them in the living room had spent most of the morning chatting – and Caroline found the three siblings amusing. Kol was the funny one who cracked up jokes that were actually funny, and he no longer gave her his intent look which was thankfully replaced by a much gentler and caring one.

Rebekah too was lovelier than Caroline had alleged. Henrik was extremely reticent, but he too had muttered a word or three. What made three of them share about their good childhood memories was beyond Caroline, but she was pleased that they did and she truly adored them. She felt an inch closer to them than yesterday and was surprised to feel good about it. She had a good laugh and a pleasant conversation with them, which she hadn't had since days and she was delighted to find herself a bit comfortable. She was even more thankful that their talk never stopped at Klaus town.

Maybe they weren't so bad after all. A tiny voice at the back of her head nudged her to probe the reason behind her abduction but she didn't want to ruin the enjoyable mood. She felt something breed among them. A tiny spark. She had no idea how much it would grow.

* * *

"You hungry, Haywire?" Hayley was questioned by Katherine as soon as she opened her eyes. A little dazed, she gave the surrounding a look. It was morning and they were still on the road and it appalled her. She growled.

"I thought we'd already be in New Orleans by now," she muttered, clearly ignoring the signs that displayed outside.

"We are. Just finding the exact location of wherever Caroline's being held up. I'm guessing we're close." Katherine threw a sandwich in a brown doggy bag on her lap, making the paper unroll and the bread to separate. "Here, have this."

"Where did you get that?"

"Last night. While you were out." She replied, looking outside the window at the flowers that swayed with the light breeze.

"I hope it's not poisoned."

They had been driving for hours and Katherine only made two stops, each lasted for about an hour. At first she needed to get some food for Hayley and herself, and the next time, she needed to use a bathroom.

By morning, she had already crossed the New Orleans sign border. New Orleans was magnificent. They had passed by amazing art portraits hanging on the walls of some buildings, fancy restaurants with great music and shops spattering out their dazzling merchandise and it narrowed into smaller streets occupied by a full crowd of people dressed in funny costumes, showing their unusual different talents before creeping along a wide lengthy road with a garden on either side which was unbelievably mesmerizing with countless varieties of flowers in numerous shades. Katherine has never seen anything like that before.

"And I hope it is." She sniffed, going straight ahead, her eyes still on the flowers.

"You know, I don't understand why you all hate me. Ty was as much involved in this as I am." Hayley muttered, biting into her sandwich.

"Well, Ty will catch hell from everyone back in Mystic Falls." Katherine spat, straightening herself, taking a sip of water from her bottle. And then she almost choked. She pressed her foot on the break instantly.

"Hey!?" Hayley screeched. "What –" and then she saw it too. Amidst the colourful carpet of florae that spread on both sides, straight ahead was the glorious white solitude mansion. Even from this distance, they could tell it was huge. And beautiful, despite the loneliness that came in waves.

Katherine got out the car and hurried towards the back of it. After opening the hood of the car, she pulled one of the parts out as Hayley watched, enjoying her sandwich. "Just so you know, I'll also be taking compensation for any damaged goods." She muffled her mouth full of the big bite that she had just taken.

* * *

At the table were three men seated, a laptop in front of each, rapidly turning the pages of the files, jotting down some notes, and sometimes ripping out the paper, crippling it and shooting over to the bin beside them. Their poor-aimed misses explained the heaps of paper strewn all around the floor.

"This is ridiculous," Tyler grumbled, slamming his pen on his 'research'.

"Come on," Kai firmly dipped a teaspoon into the fresh granola dip and stuffed his mouth with it, making a humming sound and letting the sweetness flow into his mouth. "Let me see that," he took one more spoon full of it and Jeremy eyed at him, a little muddled by his mania as it was driving everyone else a little crazy. Kai went through the pieces about Mikael, studying them very carefully. Observantly, he then took out his pieces about Esther Mikaelson and placed it next to each other.

"Hmm," he droned again. "You know what's jammy around here?"

"What the hell's a jammy?" Tyler asked, rubbing the back of his neck obviously incensed by the lack in progress they were making.

"It's my version of fishy," Kai shot them a look of disbelief and both of them growled in return, dropping their heads to the table. "Anyway, children, Mikael was a farmer in Chewelah and used to live in a small house. They were very, very poor, but after the year 1980 they move to Atlanta? Also the same time around their first child disappears. Is that weird or what?" he scoffed, yet maintaining his structure.

"Maybe this guy," Jeremy tapped his index finger on Mikael's picture. "Won a lottery or something."

"Could be," he swallowed another spoonful and licked the back of it. "Or something else happened. Besides, it doesn't even say that. I mean look at it. There's something missing..."

According to their search, nothing proved winning a lottery under how the Mikaelsons became abruptly rich but there had to be a proper justification.

"So what must have happened?" Tyler asked, surely uninterested in how the famous family got their money from.

"I don't know," he slowly raised his hand and started stroking his chin as he intently looked at the pieces gathered on the table. "I'm guessing it's something nasty. What about Esther's sister? Dinolia was it?"

"Dahlia," Tyler corrected him, taking out of picture from under one of the black files. "And she owns the most reputed strip club in Russia."

Kai narrowed his eyes at the picture that showed the entrance of the Strip Club.

"The eldest sibling's been in jail for 9 years," Jeremy announced taking out the paper that had Finn Mikaelson, 35 in it. "The rest of them are doing well. I'm not sure whether it's a good thing."

"The father's in jail too, right?" Kai asked, as if he was lost in some deep thought.

"Yeah, he murdered his wife and was imprisoned here in Mystic Falls, but after his violent behavior which resulted in the death of six officers, he was transferred to a maximum security prison in North Carolina," Tyler read the text in the file, tapping his fingers on the table impatiently.

"Mystic Falls," Kai muttered. He was no longer stuffing his face. Jeremy and Tyler frowned; confounded as they were heedless to what their friend was getting at.

"Year 2000 – Esther Mikaelson was shot to death along with her lover – Ansell... in _Mystic Falls._ Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Donovan becomes all alcoholic – no offense to Matt – and disappears and so does Mr. Forbes."

"Owkaaayyyy..." Tyler murmured, his one brow curled up, and mouth opened into a perfect 'o', giving his face the look of a question mark.

"Year 2008. And this guy –" he abruptly picked out Finn's picture and held it out, displaying it to them. "The one who testified against him was Mr. Salvatore and Mayor Richard Lockwood." He glanced at Tyler before continuing his theory. "According to all of you, no one wants to open up about what happened in 2000 and you think they're hiding something... And today, Care gets kidnapped and they want Mr. Forbes in return for her – who _was_ a council member back in 2000."

"Kai," Jeremy begged. "Do you even have a point?"

"Yes, actually, I do." He raised his eyebrows together. "What if that wasn't what happened? What if what we know is a lie? What if there's more to all the stories and what if all these reports," he pointed to the opened medical files, "are fake?"

* * *

Curiosity killed the cat.

That was her first thought as she opened the door to Klaus's bedroom. The door opened to a fresh ether. Her platform boots made thuds against the clearly polished hardwood floors as she swiftly walked into the room. She knew she should not wander around his privacy, but she was her. Plus, she was bored to literal death.

She was in complete awe of the state-of-the-art furniture placed in the immense bedroom so perfectly. Beautiful works of art were placed on the walls and she knew he'd painted them. She let herself walk to the window-balcony and allowed herself to drape the dark grey curtains so she would see the breath-taking view of the garden. She was in complete compulsion of the sight when she heard a polite cough right behind her. "You should see the view in the dawn, it's quite lovely."

Taken by surprise, she took a step back and bumped into him.

"Klaus." She let out a chary breath.

"Didn't mean to startle you, love," Klaus continued, ignorantly.

"I was just… Uh… you know…" She struggled to trump up an explanation for her invading his bedroom.

He held up his palm and smiled at her. "Oh, you don't have to come up with anything, sweetheart," he said. "Need I remind you that, to hide a lie, a thousand more lies are needed?" They both chuckled. "I believe I told you three hours, but I'm a little late now, aren't I? Well a lot, if we're being honest."  
His look became softer and he smoothly reached out to tuck a stray of hair behind her ear. She watched the way his blue eyes captivated her. Caroline quickly shook his head and tried to ignore the thoughts flooding into her.

"I had a good time today," She said.

"Whilst sneaking into my bedroom?" He mocked her.

"No," She responded, tilting her head at him. "I mean, with Rebekah, Kol and Henrik. They seem nice."

"Oh, really? Even Henrik?" He gave her a quizzical look.

"He doesn't talk that much, but he was nice," She replied. "Even Rebekah and Kol."

"That's odd. Mainly because I was under the impression that they were incapable to behave in a civil manner." He scoffed. "But, they sure do ramble a lot. And now I know why you'd enjoy them."

Caroline chuckled and rolled her eyes before asking the one thing she has been dying to ask him.  
"Klaus," she began nervously. "Why am I here?"

He was not surprised by her question, as he knew he would be asked. But he had no answer. How could he tell her the truth? Maybe one day she would find out and it may destroy her. But Klaus did not want to be the one to take away the love, respect and the whims she might have about her parents.

"I need something from your Father."

"What?" She quickly asked, without a setback of reluctance.

"It's – something he has –" he stammered. "Caroline, can we not do this, love?"

"I just need to know why," She dropped her hands to the sides. "God, I'm not asking you to let me go back!"

"I want to tell you," He took both her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over her fingers. "But trust me; you'd rather not know about it. Our childhood was dreadful and the consequences were horrific. We kept it buried until we were strong and feared enough to do something about it. We were born with enemies already plotting against us, but not anymore. I'm just trying to save my family. That is all."

"Are you going to hurt my Dad…?" She asked in an unsteady voice.

Klaus gazed at her with brooding eyes as tears shimmered in her eyes. His heart sank seeing her this way. He pitied her. Without thinking he shook his head in disparity and quickly muttered. "No," he said. "No. Of course not..." He wiped the tear on her cheek with a soft brush of his thumb and his entire mind chanted with something he could not fairly make out.  
There has to be another way, he thought. There just has to be.

"Will you join me for dinner, then?" He grimaced.

"Just give me a minute," She returned a smile. "I kinda like the view from here. Mind if I stay for a while?"

"Not at all." He smiled and headed towards the bathroom to freshen up while she went back to enjoy the view.

* * *

"Sir," he said. "There're two women standing outside the door, requesting for help. One pregnant. What do you suggest?"

Elijah was simply having a relaxing conversation with his younger two siblings, Kol and Rebekah in their living room, when one of the guards showed up inside.

"Pregnant old lady?" Kol scoffed. "What a rather unfortunate situation. Send them back, Thierry – this is no bloody hospital."

Their sister slapped Kol on the shoulder with a book and yelled. "Kol!"  
"Bex –" he laughed out loudly as Rebekah continued smacking her older brother who played the victim.  
The sibling rivalry went on as Elijah thought about the situation concluding that it'd be best if he managed this himself. He could certainly not invite them to his place. What he could do is offer them some money – it would be cruel not to do that since they are in need of help.

"Let me attend to them and handle this."

When Elijah made it to the front gate, he saw two beautiful young women. One with long straight brown hair, with an orange top, not trying to hide the fact that she was pregnant.

The next face startled Elijah. He knew her – it was one of the Gilbert girls – presumably Elena Gilbert as her sister currently resides in Paris. What was she doing there? Surely there was no way Caroline could have contacted them but they did send a rescuing team earlier in hopes that they'll find Caroline. Elijah knew better than to consider this merely coincidental. This was definitely related to Ms. Forbes.  
What struck him most was, the two ladies had just walked into the wolves den, knowing full well that it could be fatal. However, he couldn't recall anything about the pregnant one, so he upheld his thought of doubts before jumping into decisions.

Her long brown curls, danced to the moist air brushing against them. She had a huge backpack behind her back, while she carried another in her hand, muttering something to the pregnant brunette. The curve on her lips faded as soon as her gaze landed on Elijah, who was slowly making his way towards them.  
She couldn't believe her eyes. Everything was closing in on her. The adrenaline bursted through her veins like a carp through the river but the horror had paralyzed her and the more she thought of running away, or simply taking a step back, the more she felt melancholy and entirely petrified. Her mouth moved wordlessly and paleness spread on her skin.

As he studied her face, realization hit him and his face split into a nefarious smile. Steadily, he shoved his hands into his pockets and met Katherine's brown eyes.  
"I would have thought you were the other Gilbert twin," His tone was perilously calm and her heart pounded faster. "But judging our luck, it couldn't be." He inched forward causing her to take a shaky step backwards. "Right, _Katerina_?"

Hayley frowned, pacing her gaze from Elijah to Katherine. So far this was not going so well. This must be the wrong address, but Hayley knew it was impossible as the entire environment perfectly matched Bonnie's description. Her frown remained as she wondered whether Katherine had opened the door to her duskier past and something told Hayley this wasn't going to end well either.

"How long _has_ it been?" His calmness was making Katherine's blood run cold and she didn't realize she was white as a ghost now. He seized hold of her arm tight and pulled her closer coarsely. A gasp escaped her lips and she lost her grip on the backpack which fell to the ground. "You know what they say, once bitten, twice…..shy?" He said in a much unforgiving rhythm.

"Diego. Could you be kind and carry their belongings inside. They'll be staying here, for a while." Elijah suggested to the other guard who nodded. "I'm sure Niklaus would be pleased to see you, _Katerina_."

"Hayley, get out of here!" Katherine's scream astonished her. Unaware of what to do next, Hayley knew what's best for her would be to run away. She barely knew these people enough to risk her own life – and her baby's. Even then, a tiny part of her didn't want to leave Katherine alone with these dangerous looking people. But in a chaotic state, she turned her feet around and started running. But before she could get any further, her arm was grabbed by one of the guards. She quickly threw a punch at the guard's face but he clutched her fist in his hand and swung her round. She keened in pain and while taking a glance over her shoulders she caught a glimpse of the two other men that secured the gateway and she knew if she tried to run away, she would be gunned down. These people were merciless. There was no way out of this. They were trapped.

"Careful with her," Elijah was clearly upset by the way the guard had treated her. He looked directly into her eyes as he muttered. "She's pregnant."  
Then he started marching with Katherine towards the house as she grunted and Hayley was led in by the guard that she had tried to attack.

* * *

As soon as Rebekah's eye caught the pregnant lady, she grew furious.  
"Have you lost your bloody mind, Elijah?" She frowned "You can't seriously invite strangers into our _home._ For God's sake this isn't a bloody orphanage nor a safe house to just let passers-by in. Just give her some cash and be done with it!"

Kol and Rebekah jumped up to their feet as their eyes laid on the brunette that was in Elijah's grip. He gave her a hefty shove, letting go of her arm.  
"What the hell..." Kol murmured. Both recognized Katherine instantly as she watched them.

"Niklaus." Elijah said earnestly.

And then Katherine's eyes followed Elijah's gaze and it stopped at the one figure she feared the most at this moment. She quite literally turned pale and froze by seeing Klaus. His teeth were gritted, palms curled into a fist, standing at the end of the stair case, not moving a muscle and just glowered at her.

"Klaus..." She muttered, her voice barely escaping through her lips.  
Run, she screamed to herself.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7  
** How about a round of applause  
A standing ovation  
But you put on quite a show  
Really had me going  
Now it's time to go  
Curtain's finally closing  
That was quite a show  
Very entertaining  
 _\- Rihanna_

* * *

 **Atlanta City, 2009.**

"Rose," Giuseppe spoke in his gravelling voice. "I hear the Mikaelsons have all they need to expose us and get that bastard out of the jail. As much as they hate Mikael, they'll do it unless we free Finn." He continued, assessing the lady. "But freeing Finn means our destruction. We're trapped either way... That includes you and your brother – just because you were married to Ansell once. Think! You don't want to be slaughtered like the Lebonnairs' were –"

"Fine!" She quickly replied in her thick accent. "What do I need to do?"

"It's quite simple," Giuseppe placed a picture of a girl with long curly brown hair and perfect olive skin. She had big brown almond shaped eyes with a small nose and fine lips on her small face. She shook her head in disbelief looking at it.

"What do you want with her?" She stated, as she had her eyes fixed on the photograph. Then she stared back at him.

"Now, Rose, I need you to listen to me. All you need to do is convince her to do what I need her to do."

"Which is what?"

"She needs to steal a specific stone from them…" He placed another picture on the table. It was a huge translucent gemstone with a pearly luster. "It looks something like that. It's called a moonstone."

"What –? A moonstone? What even is it?"

"What's important is what it does." He seated himself in the chair next to her. "They are in possession with a special casket that can only be opened with this stone. The safe is made with unique materials, lots of steel and diamonds, and infuriating properties. If one tries to open the safe without this," he tapped two fingers on the photograph of the stone, "It'll explode and everything within a hundred thousand kilometers will burst into a billion pieces." he scoffed. "Something like a nuclear explosion."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm the one who manufactured it," he gave her a wry smile. "Look, it contains the real evidence of the 2000 crusade – something we should have destroyed when we had the chance to do so. Before Finn Mikaelson and his pathetic siblings mysteriously stole from us." His eyes blazed like torches under the lights. "And once the stone is gone, no one can open it and we are safe."

Rose stared back at the photo for a long moment during which none spoke. And then she muttered, as if accepting her loss. "Why her?"

"She's perfect for the job."

* * *

 _"If you do this," the lady she had known for quite some time now, had told her earlier, "You'll be saving a lot of lives. And you will get a chance to start over. In Paris. Where you can make all your dreams come true..."_

She had adjusted her blonde wig as she strode down the hall to the study where the interview was being held. Her platform flats, something she never wore, had made light thudding sounds on the smooth marble floor as she followed the guard to a massive study.

She remembered seeing him for the first time. The noble yet handsome face glancing up as a girl in a knee length French dress approached. The freshly pressed suit that made him look charming as well as graceful. The warm embrace as they shook hands. Her palms had been cold and wet, yet her face was nothing but an ocean of candid. He had observed her as she seated across him in a leather chair. He tried not to notice the deep brown eyes, the red lips complimenting them and her slender figure that fitted every curve of the dress that had caught his eyes the moment she entered into the room.

"Miss Petrova?"

"Yes." Her thick Bulgarian accent impressed him as she had known that it would.

"You're hired." He had said in a polite manner.

He hoped deeply that he had made the right choice. Of course, he had made a background check on her, a criminal, medical, financial record and everything proved to be clean. The innocence he recognized in her eyes enhanced his decision as she had known.

A week after she entered the wolves den, she knew it was going to be easy. She had no shame in her manipulative actions and she never backed out.

She remembered the final dinner they had before all hell broke loose. She had taken their coats and hung it on the rack. Of course, there were three of them, and she knew exactly why.  
Kol had a 'date' that night and he was upstairs getting ready. And she knew precisely why Niklaus never handed his, she had observed keenly and done her homework on every one of the siblings.

She recalled the plan being perfect. She had two minutes to spare. Just as the first course was set on the table, she entered the dining room, running, with a practiced panicky look on her face. She was panting. Elijah rose the moment he saw her face. He had sensed her alarm.

"What is wrong, Miss Petrova?"

"Uh..." she stopped to catch her breath." I was out...setting the garbage disposal...and someone – a girl, she strangled me..." she pointed at the main gate.

"What about the guards?" He asked, his usual calm voice dreaded with a pinch of fear.

"They are unconscious...I think...Or worse." She uttered, her heart had thud against her chest so hard.

"Henrik, Rebekah, go to the side panel and command all the guards to approach the front gate at once." Niklaus said. They did as ordered.

Elijah was already gone. Niklaus glanced at her for a split second before he turned his back to her, stroding after Elijah. She made sure Elijah was gone before she bolted behind Niklaus. She grabbed a needle from her pocket.

A few seconds later, Niklaus lay at her feet, unconscious of whatever she injected him with. She cleaned his coat pocket.

It had gone perfectly well.

Until Kol.

"Nik? Where the bloody hell is my phone? If you have hidden it once again, I will murder you."

He had approached the indoor balcony and was gaping at the maid who was staring at a gem-like stone in her hands with Niklaus lying on his face.

"What the –" he scrammed down as fast as he could.

She knew that was fatal. There was minimum chance of escape. She had to do what she does best.

Katherine ran.

* * *

"Thank you so much Rose," Giuseppe Salvatore nodded, holding the precious moonstone out in his hand, still questioning their victory. But the Mikaelsons were always so easy to deceive. Clearly he had no idea what was yet to come.

"What happens to Katherine from here?" her voice was taut with mixed emotions.  
She had convinced an innocent girl that she intensely cared for to play with fire by feeding the girl lies for her own welfare. It was pretty selfish, she agreed to that, but Katherine was gaining something from this and although she couldn't make any promises about that, she knew she was going to try to give Katherine a fresh start.

The eighteen year old has suffered enough as she had lost both her parents and she held herself responsible for that causing her to leave her home since she couldn't face anyone. When Katherine moved to Atlanta City, she found a way to grieve her loss – by engaging in drugs but soon after she found out that she was with child. In fear of harming the baby that she carried, she tried to stop it and yet was struggling to keep her hands off it. And then she met Rose, who took her in and mentored her, helped her off the drugs – during which they both grew closer and began trusting one another. After she gave birth to a beautiful baby daughter, it was Rose who made sure the baby was in safe hands – a place where Katherine _knew_ her daughter would be loved.

"She'll be in Paris by the end of the week," He said calmly. "And as promised, she'd be offered money and a place to stay where she can pursue her career. I'll make sure she's safe, Rose, and she will be as long as she doesn't come back. I owe that much to Grayson…" If it were someone else, they'd be dead by now, he added to himself with a scoff.

Rose simply nodded, still skeptical of how she must be feeling at the moment. But before she could turn around to leave, Giuseppe grabbed her wrist roughly in a forceful manner. She winced in pain.

"She doesn't need to know who those people are, Rose," he said in a menacing tone. And Rose stared into his piercing blue eyes that reflected hers. "And she most definitely does not need to know that it was _me_ who needed the stone. In fact," he continued, as his penetrating gaze probed into her. "She doesn't need to know anything." His face broke into a wicked smile and for a second, she felt like it was not a person behind those eyes – it was just a monster. "Except what she's _supposed_ to know."

* * *

About an hour after, Klaus opened his eyes to the familiar white ceiling of his bedroom. He was confused, lying on his bed, recalling what happened when Kol appeared in front of him. He quickly sat up, a shot of blinding headache attacking at once. He heard Kol sigh.

"Nik, are you alright?" He could sense the concern in his little brother's voice. "God, you gave me a damned heart attack!"

"The moonstone," Klaus muttered with a look of guilt swaying across his face. "It' gone... I... I failed... If – "

"Nik," Kol placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "It doesn't matter right now. We'll find a way. You know it. But...I can't believe you got outrun by a girl." He smirked.

Klaus stayed still, unable to utter a comeback. He was in a daze. He had failed. All his labour efforts had melted into thin air. Just like that.

"I'm glad you're okay." He helped Klaus sit upright.

"Nik – are you alright?" Rebekah strolled into the room, a worried look on her face. Elijah and Henrik treaded in after her.

"That girl will suffer the consequences." Elijah spoke. "I will make sure of that."

Rebekah handed Niklaus a glass of water and two pills. "Should help with the headache."

Henrik remained awfully still. He had thought he had lost another member of his family and he hadn't been ready for that yet...

For the first time, they all felt a pang of fear deep in their hearts. And along with that a profound ripple of camaraderie. The incident would forever remain a dark memory in their hearts.

"We will be avenged." Niklaus pronounced, his voice heavy with pain and courage.

And he meant it.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8  
** Just please don't say you love me  
'Cause I might not say it back  
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that  
 _\- Gabrielle Aplin_

* * *

 **PRESENT DAY.  
** **New Orleans.**

"There's my girl. I was wondering when you'd show up." Klaus stormed towards her, his hands reaching to her and suddenly tightened it around her throat and she felt herself being lifted off her feet. Her eyes flew up while she tried hard to catch her breath – choking sounds escaped her lips as she strained to loosen his clutch. He was awfully strong for her. Or for any other, she concluded.

"Oh my god, Katherine!" Hayley gasped in utter horror. Elijah glanced at her and then at his brother and shut his eyes close.

"I've wanted to do this since the day you pricked me with a bloody needle," he shook her head hard watching her suffer, a satisfying curve on his lips. "You do remember that day, don't you?"

"Niklaus," Elijah placed his hand slowly on his brother's shoulders and demanded. "Let the girl go."

"Tell her to get me the bloody moonstone!" He screamed. "Then, _maybe_ I'll let her live."

"We can sort this out like civil people," Elijah muttered looking at Katherine still fighting for her breath. She could sense the whole room confining her, as her head rush made her feel like she was about to pass out any second.

"Nik," Rebekah yelled in dismay. "Stop it! You're killing her."

"She's too darling to die, Nik..." Kol spoke swaying towards Klaus, trying hard to persuade Klaus to let her go. Every one of his siblings knew what rage does to him – how it blinded him of what right or wrong is. He could kill the girl right in front of them, without even thinking twice about it – no matter the consequences. "Nik, come on. Leave her…" Kol muttered, a trace of slur in his voice. "You don't wanna kill her."

Henrik stood still unsure of what to do or say. He knew his brothers were hell bent on getting their revenge and for that he agreed, but _this_ was wrong... But he knew Klaus too. He hates being told what to do, it's his way and there is no other option. Even when Henrik knew Klaus would never snap at him, he didn't say anything to stop it because it wouldn't have made a difference. Klaus fought for those who he loved; his family and would abolish any threats to them. His temper was a disease that no one seems to have the cure to. At least not yet.

"Klaus!" Her voice was enough to let him loosen his grip. He didn't want her to see his true self – the self that could beat people up mercilessly, the side with no humanity and the side that could kill for his family if it came to that. Although he's never done it, he knew he would. He had a feeling that Caroline would be afraid of him and look at him differently than she did now. He knew Caroline had grown fond of him and he couldn't let a barrier grow right back up.

"Oh my god!" She ran downstairs as fast as she could, stealing glances over at the struggling lady whose knees were bent as Klaus had his hands gripped hard around her neck.

"Stop it!" He immediately let go of her, only to watch her fall to the floor, panting for air. Her entire face had gotten red and she coughed holding on to her neck as she could still feel his fingers grasping her throat.

Furiously, Caroline pushed Klaus aside before kneeling beside the girl. Caroline brushed her hair out of her face and her eyes widened as she recognized the familiar face. "Elena!?" She was startled at first until a rush of contentment ran through her as she faintly fathomed the purpose behind her friend's presence, and she knew it was her. Her _friend_ had come for her, to help her out of there and Caroline always thought they'd move on and she would be forgotten like tears in the rain. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she isn't as worthless as she thought she was. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Care," she said in a brittle voice, still suffering from the aftermath of Klaus' cruel claws that dug into her throat, moments before. "Just running from time until I broke a heel." Caroline helped her up to her feet. Her face flushed in understanding as a wave of realization hit her. They may be identical but that was definitely not Elena. "Katherine...?" Caroline said in a hushed manner. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Paris?" She shot an angry glare at Klaus. "And _what_ is going on!?"

"I was," She said. And before she could elaborate more she was interrupted by Klaus.

"And then she heard about your abduction and came running in hopes that she could betray us once again," Klaus completed with pride.

"Once again?" Caroline scoffed. "You guys know each other?"

"You could say that, Care…" Katherine replied and then looked back at Klaus. "And no. That's actually not what happened. I couldn't get any direct flights from Paris to Mystic Falls, yesterday so I settled for a one that would take me to Houston city instead. And then, I met her," Katherine pointed at Hayley. "She was kind enough to offer me a lift. And we were on our way when the car broke down and she had alarms of false labour beeping up." In the midst of all chaos, Caroline hadn't noticed her presence but as she glanced at Hayley, it all came haunting back to her and she wanted to just storm out of the room. The betrayal she had suffered from Tyler may not be fresh but it still hurt her a little bit. They shared an awkward look. Katherine turned around, her brown waves flipping over her shoulder. Then she muttered under her breath. "And I didn't know _they_ kidnapped you."

"Oh really?" Rebekah crossed her arms and cocked her head. "So it all just happened right next to our home? Right around the time Caroline goes missing and right after your tragic failure of the rescue team?" She spoke as she shifted from one foot to the other. "It's kinda hard to believe, don't you think?" Of course. They should have known to delay this whole thing, but they were frantic.

Katherine smiled, sarcastically at the blonde, trying to hide the apprehension building in her. "Yes. And your point?"

Rebekah's eyes bore into Katherine as she remained still, and a faint smile coated on her face. And then without saying anything else she trooped away, walking past Elijah and grabbed the backpacks from the guards. "Then you wouldn't mind this, now would you sweets?"

Katherine tensed her shoulders and balled her fists nervously. Rebekah had literally thrown out all her and Hayley's clothes off to the floor, in just a second and kept digging through her clothes until she found a cell phone in Katherine's backpack. She hummed satisfyingly as she scrolled down, reading her messages. Then she threw it over to her brother and Klaus caught it, effortlessly. Katherine's face clouded in defeat and she glanced at Hayley who shook her head and gave a look that clearly said, 'We're screwed,'

"If what you're saying is true," He lifted his chin. "Then why does your sister want to know whether you're okay and if you've found Caroline?" He questioned her, still going through her phone. "And Damon wants to know whether you and Caroline are safe?" the corners of his mouth turned up, drew nearer to Katherine, staring into nothing. He was undoubtedly hatching a plot in his evil mind and Caroline just knew, because of the satiating look he gave Katherine, what he was thinking was clearly wretched. "Now, _you_ are going to text them back and say, all is well. That everything is going according to the _plan_ and you could not text them sooner because you ran into some real car troubles." Klaus said in a demanding tone and something told Katherine that she had to do as she was told.

"And why would she even _consider_ doing that?" Caroline crossed her arms.

"Because, I said so, sweetheart," Klaus replied and Caroline scoffed, annoyed by his arrogant behavior.

After Katherine was done with it, Klaus grabbed the phone from her and said, "I'll hold on to it, until next time," She let out a crushed sigh.

"Now, darling, let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Kol ran a finger down her curls that made her shiver. She began to fidget, by the cold stare he was frozen in. Caroline gave Klaus a warning look, to which he shrugged making her so annoyed she swore she could slap him across the face. "Where's the bloody moonstone that you stole from us?"

"Kol, get away from her," Caroline gave him a little shove on his shoulder.

"Fine, Care-doll," He pursed his lips in approval and turned his attention back to the brunette. "But I'm gonna need that answer."

"I don't know," Katherine replied, taking a step back. "I was told to steal it."

"By whom? May I ask?" Elijah smirked.

"A woman..." She was hesitant to reveal her name. Klaus did not miss the twitch beneath her eyes as she went on. "I don't know her name – she just –"

"No. You do. Now let's try that again." Klaus threateningly moved forward, with his teeth gritted. "Who asked you to steal it? Don't lie to me."

"I don't –" He grabbed her chin tightly and she was cut off.

"Klaus! Don't touch her!"

"Well, then, Caroline," he let go and looked right at Caroline as he continued. "Make her tell where it is. Because that stone is rather important to us and we need it."

Caroline did not understand what he meant by a 'moonstone' or why it was so important to them. She saw the desperation in his eyes and almost felt it for an instant. Also, she feared that Katherine would get hurt again.

"Where's this stone Kat...?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline, listen to me," Katherine's voice was tremulous as she jumbled out the words and Caroline observed the unease of her friend. "That stone – if he gets his hands on it – we'll all die,"

The siblings all sneered, exchanging glances, as if she had told a punchline of a hysterical joke. She ignored them and continued her side of the story to Caroline, who was absolutely interested in hearing it. "I was told it was a grenade and if he uses it – everyone within a hundred thousand kilometers will turn to ash which is why he shouldn't have it. They need it to wage a war against some innocent people –"

"And who fed you those lies?" Klaus's shoulders slumped.

"Are they!? _Are_ they lies?" Katherine asked satirically, almost scowling at him. "Judging by what you're already doing – kidnapping my friend – you couldn't possibly want the stone for decorative purposes."

"No, I'd rather have your heart and head for that matter."

"Klaus!" Caroline hissed. She clenched her eyes shut a moment and rubbed her forehead. "Okay, what stone!?"

"You see, that stone is what opens the damned box that contains evidence against all the council members back at your home," Kol explained. "Obviously someone from Mystic Falls must have pushed you towards stealing it from us just so it'd remain a secret."

"Evidence?" Caroline glanced at everyone, who quickly looked away from her gaze, to ignore her question. A lot of questioned swiveled around in her head.

"No... What? No one from Mystic Falls asked me to steal it..." Katherine began thinking. "But she told me –"

" _She_ is a liar," Rebekah interfered. "It's no silly grenade. The casket – that is a grenade. If we try to open it without the moonstone – then it'll turn everything to ash."

It couldn't be, Katherine thought. Rose would never lie to her… There was no reason to. Besides, why else would Rose want her to steal it if it wasn't to save lives? But why had Rose always acted strange when she questioned more about the entire thing? She never revealed further about it… She never even gave the name of the person who wanted the stone. Rose had always shut the conversation by saying it wasn't important. At first, Katherine felt a bit wavered to accept her prize as she knew nothing about this man who offered her enough money and help her settle in Paris.

"What _evidence_?" Caroline asked again, giving them a confused look.

"Who was this, lady?" Elijah ignored her question, making her scoff in annoyance. She always knew there was something they were all hiding from her – especially Klaus. And he wanted it to be hidden.

Katherine closed her eyes, "She told me a man wanted to hire me to take it from you... I don't know who he is – I swear –"

"Her name," Elijah orotundly demanded. "Unless you want to drag in the rest of the Gilberts _and_ your precious Salvatore into a redundant mayhem."

I was right, she thought. They knew. They knew _everything_. She had been exposed and their phenomenal plan had been crushed right before her eyes. She blinked with feigned innocence as Elijah's intent gaze drilled right through her. And there was nothing she could do other than surrender.

"Rose-Mary," she clenched her fist and squeezed her eyes shut. "Her name's Rose-Mary."

* * *

 **Chewelah, WA.  
**

"Wow, I could get used to this," Kai scoffed stretching his arms over his head and letting out a loud sigh.

"This is definitely a sight to behold," Jeremy agreed with Kai. From a distance, they could see the lavish green forest fringed by the golden beaches and emerald sea lined by high swaying coconut trees. The peace and silence of the surrounding was only cracked by the chirping of birds and the leaves that rattled for the soft breeze. On the opposite side were houses all arranged in a linear fashion.

"If both of you are done enjoying the view," Tyler's interruption pulled them out of their awe-inspiring relaxation they were reveling in. "I'd like to get on with what we really came here to do…?" He turned around and began walking towards the houses, looking down at the cell phone in his hands. He heard Kai's unhappy low grunt from behind as they started following him.

"If Carollie were here right now," Kai complained as he strolled beside Tyler. "We'll be laughing our asses off and relishing in this all – very glorious moment." He continued. "Hey, maybe we should come back here after all this is over!" his ardent tone reflected the budding optimism in him. He took the cellphone from Tyler and glanced at the picture of the tiny worn out cottage-like house. "We're here…" he mumbled to himself, coming to a halt as he took in the sight of what stood before them – the house that once upon a time used to be the Mikaelsons' home. "Man, if only _that_ were drooping candy." He scoffed.

" _When_ we get her back…" Tyler murmured ignoring Kai, burned by the mention of Caroline's absenteeism, earning a look from both Kai and Jeremy. "Anyway," he raised his eyebrows together, "I am going to the police station, and Jeremy will be at the hospital," he then faced Kai who gave a quick nod understandingly and alleged in an undertone, keeping his gaze firm on the houses. "Interrogating every single damn soul in this neighborhood. It should be….. Fun, right?"

* * *

 **New Orleans  
**

Katherine was being dragged by Caroline into her room, as the backpack in her hand flapped on her leg. Once they were inside she closed the door behind her, turned around and crossed her arms against her chest, dissatisfaction gleaming in her eyes.

"Explain." She said.

"I know you're upset, Caroline –"

"Upset!?" Caroline hissed at Katherine, bending forwards and her arms flying out of its crossed position. "I am angry! Furious! I'm practically sputtering the rage out of my body and you think I'm _upset_!?"

"Caroline," Katherine slowly touched her shoulders and tilted her head. "We were curious to get you out of this place and this was the only way to do it." She let out a nervous smile.

"So you show up here with the _slut_!?" Caroline shrieked. "Katherine – she –"

"That was Elena and Bonnie's idea," Katherine rolled her eyes. "They didn't want me to come here alone and it was only I who haven't lived in Mystic Falls for a long time. So we figured they wouldn't really trace my being here to your kidnapping," she realized the scene from earlier, when Caroline raised her eyebrows at her. "Obviously, I was mistaken..."

"Ugh, Katherine!" Caroline glanced up the ceiling rubbing her temples. "I can't believe you guys actually thought that I'd be okay with _her_ being on my _rescue squad_ ," She made a wheezy noise. "I mean, she has Tyler's child growing inside of her! You know Tyler? My boyfriend for nine years – Tyler Lockwood?"

"Yes Care," Katherine said. "I know who Tyler is and I know how hard it must be for you to stand in the same room as her. But – look, I've a plan okay? To get you out of here. Then, you won't have to deal with Hayley. Let's just hope that it works." She inclined her head.

"Wait, what do you mean 'a plan'?"

"Don't worry about it," Katherine beamed. "I'll tell you when it's time. But right now," Katherine playfully chuckled as her smiled sparkled with mischief. She jabbed her hand into the backpack and pulled out a pink shopping bag quickly holding it out for Caroline.  
Caroline looked at the bag then at Katherine with a strangled expression.

"It's a dress," Katherine said. "I, uh, bought gifts for everyone when I heard that Lena got engaged… Because I knew I had to – return sometime soon for the wedding because she wouldn't… Have it without me." She forced a smile on her miniature face. "I'm the maid of honour, duh." She scoffed nervously.

Suddenly there was an aura of grey around them. It was a mist that wouldn't rise as it reminded them of the last long years without Katherine. How could she just leave them behind? Her family, her home? Wasn't it enough? Why didn't she want to be in their lives any longer? Caroline did understand the tragedy that struck Katherine – but Elena and Jeremy suffered the same fate too. And she had her family and friends to help her get through it – she had Damon and yet she hadn't even stopped to say goodbye. It was as though she wanted to vanish from their lives and it was painful to think that she didn't need any of them. A faint smile slowly faded on her lips as she looked up at Katherine with gloom.

"Why?" She sighed out loudly. "Why did you just leave like that, Katherine? I mean, whatever you were going through, we would all have been there for you and you knew that. But you just… Left. I thought we were all closer than that. I just… We were all a family – did you not want us?"

Katherine pulled her friend into a hug as her eyes clouded with tears. "No, Care, of course not," She said in breathy voice, as Caroline hugged her back. "I grew up with all of you. You were all my family and I love you – more than anything… It's just…" As Katherine closed her eyes, a teardrop fled, finding an easy trail down her cheek. "It was hard. It still is. I don't know how to explain…" She quickly wiped the tear off and pulled Caroline away with a smile.  
"But I know I owe you all one, so, how about we get your ass out of here and I will. When we are all together and safe, like old times?" She tilted her head, forcing a smile to strain and push back her tears. "That sound okay, right?"

"Right," Caroline said under her breath, wiping off the tears from the back of her hand. "Okay."

"Now go try that dress on and see if it fits." She said.

When she came out, she looked magnificent. The hemline of the strapless silver dress reached just above the knee and accentuated her thin waist and hugged her hips and flared a bit.

"Wow," Katherine walked towards her friend, and stood beside her in front of the mirror. "You look amazing as always, Care."

"Oh, my god!" Caroline squeaked, looking at her own reflection, amused by the beautiful dress she wore. "This is so fabulous! I can't believe I'm actually wearing it."  
Katherine too joined her screeches and laughter, hugging her friend from a side, complimenting her as they hopped on their toes like three year old. They have surely missed each other's company and they haven't laughed together in years and yet, it wasn't strange. There was no void space.

Katherine's joy was short lived as she was startled when Klaus let himself in to the room without a knock, as usual, wearing his arrogant smile and flashing his dimples that faded as soon as he saw Caroline. His eyes cruised her figure in a sweeping motion until he met her eyes. His stare at her was sharp, as if creased with shards of glass around the edges and Katherine swore she heard a gasp escaping through his lips. The calculating tenderness at the center drew him in and it betrayed no feelings to those that surrounded him. Well, except for Caroline.

Katherine scrutinized their gaze with intensity, pin ponging her eyes between Klaus and Caroline for several seconds before Caroline broke it off.  
"What?" She snapped, still crossed at him for his behavior towards Katherine.

"I – was, uh, I – came," he stammered. "To say that, dinner is ready."

"Okay," Caroline said, timidly and cleared her throat, observing Klaus. "We'll be down there…"

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia.**

"Heard from Katherine?" Stefan asked walking into the Damon's bedroom. He just got out of the shower and had a towel wrapped around his waist as he walked towards his closet.

"Yup!" He threw his cell phone at Stefan and he caught it. "She's in and everything's going according to the plan."

"Hmm," Stefan murmured checking the messages. Damon wore his shirt and jeans, coming over to Stefan and took his cell phone, with a smirk. "And if she doesn't screw this up, Carebear will be home in no time!"

"And Katherine?" Stefan lowered his chin and gave his older brother the judgy look.

"She'll probably run for the hills or disappear or blow up – _kaboom_! I don't know and I don't care."

"Will you cut it out?"

"What?"

"We all know it's an act..."

"Act?" Damon frowned. "What are you talking about Stef?"

"Damon," he moved closer to Damon and slapped on his chest with the back of his hand. "You're my brother and _no one_ , besides me knows you better than I do. Holding that status, I'm gonna say that you're doing a terrible job at this. Why don't you talk to her?"

"There's nothing to talk about –"

"You're _still_ in love with her." Stefan calmly said. Damon glanced at Stefan and stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. "There is something to talk about." He smiled patting on Damon's shoulders, before walking out and leaving Damon to think about his statement, in the solitary room. He knew his little brother was right and everything he tried to do to deny it, just keeps blowing up on his face and yet his ego wouldn't allow him to agree to it.

* * *

Liz Forbes was lost into a deep thought of none other than her daughter. She hadn't received any calls from the kidnapper and this had her worrying more than ever. She couldn't even send a rescuing teams and the New Orleans Police had disagreed to cooperate any further due to the respect they had for the Mikaelsons and also because of their vain attempt. Now, she couldn't do anything other than wait and it was driving her to the point of insanity.  
Is Caroline alive? Was the kidnapper hurting her because of the delayed appearance of Bill Forbes? Where was he anyway? He had promised to be in Mystic Falls by morning but he never showed up. Liz had absolutely no idea how she was going to handle it if Bill wouldn't come. But she knew, if she had to she would trade her life for Caroline's. She would expose the council, including herself if it meant that Caroline would be free of them. She wouldn't let her daughter pay for her sins.

The doorbell rang twice, staggering her from her thoughts.

She opened the door and just stood there for a few seconds, frozen to the spot not knowing how to react. Her hand stopped dead, mouth fell open, and eyes widened as the vivid evocation of the past loaded back into her as she stared at the figure standing on her porch with a vague smile.

"Bill."

* * *

 **New Orleans.**

Rich courses of various types of meat, garden vegetables and fruit were served as cutlery clinked to a rhythm of delight.

Elijah and Henrik were seated at the end of the massive table -piled high- for a change. The Mikaelsons were having brief conversations about various subjects whilst Hayley and Katherine, seated across each other were drowning in awkwardness. They pushed their food around their china plates, eyeing each other continuously.

"Why aren't you on the menu?" Kol had asked Katherine, mockingly as she high-heeled into the immense dining room, as ordered, in her cerise low-cut designer top that complimented her model figure and skinny black jeans, leading Hayley in leggings and a grey sweater.

Although he was a nuisance, she had to agree that he was a major ice-breaker at the table and he made both her and Hayley comfortable to an extent they hadn't known that they could reach. Besides, either she had resided in too long in Paris, or Caroline had fitted into the table perfectly. She didn't know them that well, but she could literally feel their solid tie.

"So Nik, are you gonna pass me the gravy or keep rubbing your leg with Care-doll's?" Kol said, with a mischievous grin. Henrik rolled his eyes at his elder brother's behavior. Rebekah kicked Kol under the table with her rhinestone boots as hard as she could. They had been developing something too precious with Caroline and she didn't want to ruin that by scaring her off easily.

Klaus raised his head so he could stare directly at Kol. "Kol, what do I say…." He trailed.

"Manners broth–" Elijah's words were cut off with Klaus's sudden leap.

The girls watched in absolute horror as Klaus, quicker than a lightning bolt, grabbed an unused butter knife from the table and lashed it across at Kol. Red flushed in their faces and they gaped with wide eyes as the knife plunged into the plush red leather just a few inches above Kol's head. He had not flinched, let alone stirred in his chair.

"Ah!" Hayley was so startled, that she didn't realize she had been squeezing Elijah's hand with all her force.

"Oh, my god! Seriously, Klaus!?" Caroline spoke as shock stroke her, eyeing Klaus furiously. "You – you could have killed him!"

"Don't act surprised, ladies. Nik never misses the bull's eye." Kol said, plainly unbothered. Rebekah and Henrik snickered while Elijah just shook his head, contritely. Klaus grinned conceitedly at Caroline, however as realization commenced him, he knew he shouldn't have done that. He had scared her. _Again_ …

"What…?"Katherine was staggered to see them act so tranquil about what had just happened. They were smiling and snickering as if it were something that happened every day – something usual and that thought caused an unease piercing through her and she felt bilious. Katherine, her face pale with dismay, questioned as if she dreaded the answer. "Who the hell _are_ you people!?"

"We are the Mikaelsons, darling." Kol replied with a triumphant beam.

Caroline was still in shock when Klaus' hand found hers' on her lap and gave it a small squeeze, setting her heartbeat to a faster rhythm. She jolted her hand away and stared down at her plate.

Katherine's glare traveled with unnerving thoroughness to meet with Hayley's across the table, who shared the same look of terror.  
What have they gotten themselves into...?

* * *

"Hello, love." Klaus said walking into her room after slightly knocking. She was sitting on the side of the huge bed watching some television with glassy eyes. Caroline needed to relax after the stressful Mikaelson dinner; she had to calm herself a little bit, from the knife flinging chaos. She didn't want to think about everyone back at home, especially her mother as it made her sad...  
She evidently ignored Klaus who stood beside to her. The television light reflected off her eyes, concluding her lack of concentration.

"I see you're still irate about everything that happened tonight?" He asked innocently, clasping his hands behind him. She scoffed and went back to ignoring him. He kept standing there awkwardly not knowing how to start the conversation. He never tried this hard – or tried at all ever before. But his heart was at unease because Caroline had seen the rage that he didn't know how to control. Before Caroline, he didn't even worry about it and today he felt revolted by it and eager to never let her see it again.

Klaus inhaled, trying to collect the words to spill. "Caroline, I…" He trailed. She could hear the sincerity in his voice and that caused her to revert her attention to Klaus from the T.V.  
"I'm sorry you had to see that," He paused, waiting for Caroline to utter at least a word but instead she kept tracking his gaze for a moment, thinking about everything that's been happening. "Caroline –"

"Klaus," she intervened.

He looked at her sincerely and sat next Caroline, not breaking off the eye contact even for a second.

"I haven't seen my Dad since like – the third grade," She quivered. "I don't even remember the last time I saw him. He left us and never called to see how I was doing or to see whether I was alive – he _didn't_ even show up for my graduation… Not that I knew where he lived to send him an invitation." She scoffed, shaking her head and Klaus could feel the sadness around her. She must really miss her Father. "And I get it... More than you think I do – you have grudges against my father and the Council and you want revenge for the sake of your family… " She turned around to face Klaus, and folded her hands in her lap. "I don't know... You may think that I do – but I don't know _anything_ about the council and their _secrets_ and I have no idea where my Dad is."

"Caroline," Klaus held her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "What are you trying to say, Sweetheart?"

She jerked his hands away. "This! You're trying to seduce me by making me think that you actually care about me. But, Klaus...? I'm telling the truth, I don't know anything about them. I really don't. So just – stop, okay? I don't want to be a part of it – I can't be in the middle of whatever your family has against mine – so leave me out of it! I'm done playing the backup all the time."

The words all the time had stuck to him although he ignored it for the time being. Feeling her frustration, Klaus wanted to blurt everything out. Emotions he never knew he had swirled around his head and at that moment he wanted to tell her. He had to fight with all his strength to resist the urge he never knew he had to. He was fighting a battle with his mind, and for a second there he wanted to lose. For her.

"I don't – I'm not trying to get secrets out of you, Caroline." He said. "I could never do that to you… you should know that by now."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Caroline glared at him, getting up from the bed and turning around to face him.

"It's up to you, love. It's not a bluff and I believe you can contemplate that." He said in a relaxed pace, as he slowly swayed on his feet, towards Caroline who kept taking steps back. Her heart was racing beyond her control and she kept moving away until her back hit the wall but that didn't stop Klaus from coming closer and closer. Caroline found herself caged close between his chest and the wall, his palms pressed to the wall on either side of her head and the dangerously small space between them was not the only problem because Klaus' had trapped her gaze with Caroline's and she couldn't break it off this time. She wanted him like he wanted her. His eyes were like blazing blue fire and it was as though the clocks had stopped ticking and the universe had come to a halt. It was like the deep ocean where she could drown for eternity.  
He leaned in closer, and planted a kiss just right beneath her lips and that made her tremor slightly. Klaus felt Caroline's hand against his chest and he kissed her once more before letting her drown in again.

"It's real. For me." He blinked several times before their trance was broken off by jovial voices soaring from the door. Caroline quickly pushed Klaus away and he willingly backed off, looking awkwardly at both Kol, Rebekah and Henrik.

"Care-doll! Ohhhkh!" Kol said and his eye went round. "Jeez." His mouth carved up into an impish smile, letting out a scoff, as he loomed in with Rebekah by his side, who squinted her eyes at her brother. "Were you two, perhaps…?"

Her face flushed with bright pink as she snapped back at Kol, "No! No, no... We, uh... No."

Rebekah snickered and Henrik stood by the door, trying not to smile by seeing Klaus' embarrassed face as this was the first time in his life he has witnessed it.

"Oh, come on, Care-doll," He said to her in a mocking tone. "Do you honestly take me for a fool? I mean, Nik…. " He cleared his throat as Klaus' angry gaze sliced him, warning him not to tire Caroline any further.

"Little brother," Klaus said. "What on Earth do you think you're doing here?"

"We didn't come for _you_ Nik," Rebekah interrupted. "It's Caroline that we were looking for." She smiled widely at her and Caroline smiled back, kindly. She walked towards her and took her hand and asked her in an innocent way, making her eyes flicker that no one could have resisted. "We all decided to play a game – truth or dare, I'm sure you're familiar with it. It'd really make us happy if you'd join us. Please?"

"I….uh…." She trailed, trying to find a nice way to agree to her.

"Bekah, you're not children anymore –"

"Hush up, Nik," Kol retorted and then wiggled his eyebrows at him.

"Pleeeeeease?" Rebekah said.

"Okay…" Caroline smiled. "But can my friend Katherine join too?"

Rebekah shared a look with both Klaus and Kol as if asking their permission. Kol only shrugged, flashing his 'who cares' smile.

"If that's what you want…" Klaus replied.

"Okay!" Rebekah squeaked in excitement.

* * *

 **Chewelah, WA.**

The people were nice; Kai the " _journalist_ " had to agree to that. The neighbors all seemed to know Mikael and Esther all too well and they described their daughter as a lovely girl who respected her elders and jested around, spreading love and cheerfulness. She would also engage with children of her age. And every one of them enjoyed

her presence while it lasted. They failed to comprehend how a devil like Mikael could be blessed with such a beautiful angelic soul. Kai also found out something else from the people he talked to – something that triggered a mild suspicion. Dahlia had paid them a visit, right around the time Freya had injured her hand whilst playing around with one of the farmers' kids. Also, Dahlia had offered to take care of the little girl until Mikael and Esther settled properly in Atlanta and that was the last they heard of the little girl that brought life to their lifeless forest.

As he returned from the station to meet up with the others, Tyler's mind was completely focused on the new set of unforeseen facts he had just gathered. According to the police department, no one had filed a missing report about the eldest Mikaelson sibling. However, he found out more things about Mikael – he was an ill-tempered man who no one dared to cross but once had gotten into a brutal fight that nearly killed one of the farmers and duly, he was brought into a holding cell. He had beaten the poor man as his son was responsible for Freya's hand injury. Fortunately for him, Esther's sister had bailed him out. It was about a month before they left Chewelah.

Jeremy's search was somewhat futile. There were no attached records of the girl. No birth records, no death records, no medical history – none. Not to mention the fact that nothing lead up to her or at least close enough. It was as if she had vanished into thin air-just like that.

And almost all of their solutions seem to round back to one single person.

Dahlia.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9  
** And just say the word, we'll take on the world,  
Just say you're hurt, we'll face the worst,  
Nobody knows you, the way that I know you,  
Look in my eyes, I will never desert you, and  
Just say the word, we'll take on the world.  
 _  
_

* * *

The game had started.

"My turn. Umm...Dare!" Kol said excitedly.

"Ooh ooh, can I ask?" Caroline chirped.

"Sure Sis." Kol replied.

"Say I swear I will not sleep with anyone this month or I will let Klaus pound me until I am bruised enough."

"Ha-ha. Good one, love." Klaus snickered.

"Come on, Kol." Rebekah and Caroline chanted.

He repeated with a sorry look on his face.

They all laughed at his misfortune. After all, it was Kol.

Just then, Elijah walked in to the living room. He saw all of them laughing.

"Elijah, join us."

"Unfortunately for you all, I do not participate in meaningless, ridiculous activities." He replied, walking in an awfully fast speed, heading towards the stair case.

He was gone upstairs before they could utter a comeback.

The game was going on like a blazing hot fire.

"Alright, Caroline, you are next."

Rebekah spoke. "Hmmm, I've got one. Have you ever been so drunk you let something stupid happen to you? I know I've."

Klaus glared at her.

Rebekah sighed. "When I was with my nun friends in the church."

Caroline stiffened. Her bright smile faded away as she remembered. The tequila. The party. Her friends. Jesse, her then boyfriend calling her mean things and those words stinging her like a venomous wasp. The woods and the three guys that she did not recognize. She would never be able to forget the dark night as it awaited in her mind to become a darker memory.

Katherine felt her tension and eyed her in a comforting way. She had been there with Elena and Bonnie searching for Caroline in the woods after her missing from the party. She had found Caroline, bruised and clothe-less smelling like sick and wasted. Her face had been swollen and blood pooled between her thighs.

Of course, the three guys were taken care of by Damon, Stefan and Kai but that did not undo anything. They were captured - for a while, but that did not return her stolen chastity.

Katherine cleared her throat. "I'm going to bed. I need my beauty sleep." She said as she gulped down the last of her drink. "Care….? Let's go?"

She desperately wanted to end the game. She did not want Caroline to go through the same horrors again.

"...Yeah, me too." Said a dazed Caroline.

Klaus noticed the slight change of air but he could not quite put his finger there.

Not then, at least.

* * *

"Kat, I'm fine!" Caroline complained as her friend played Mom and tucked her in bed. She sat next to Caroline and eyed her, apologetically.

"I really am," Caroline squeezed her hand. "It... happened a long time ago."

"I know," she nodded, forcing a smile on her face. "I was there. We were there."

"Yeah... You were all there." Caroline returned the smile. "Now go and get your beauty sleep."

"You sure you -"

"I am!" She laughed. "Promise."

"Okay." Katherine left.

It was true. They were all there for her back then. Every one of them. She remembered, Elena, Katherine and Bonnie wrapping a blanket around her naked body and hugging her whilst they sobbed as if they blamed themselves for the incident. She remembered the aching pain between her legs and the stinging in the wounds on her swollen face. She could feel the pain of the nails that dug into her flesh as they forcefully held her on the rough gravel pressing against her bare skin, whilst the other did what she had not imagined of.

Caroline was too shocked – she remained still after they were done with her. She felt... numb. She couldn't rven cry. Stefan, Damon and Kai caught the three guys and they beat them up and held them until the police came.

Everyone had stayed at her house for a month, until she recovered from her nightmares. Elena and Bonnie slept on her bed, next to her while Katherine took the small couch beside her bed. The guys, Damon, Stefan, Kai, Matt and even Jeremy slept on the floor and her mother would look at the scene and just smile because everyone was there for her. She would walk into the room, carefully, not wanting to step on anyone, and lean over and plant a kiss on her daughter's forehead and silently leave.

They all took her to school after a week, and tried to create an attuned environment but she was always distracted even when she tried not to be. But as time went by she was improving – or at least pretending to. They all took her out for shopping and to amusement parks and Caroline slowly started living again and returning to her old self – the neurotic control freak self that everyone gravely missed.

And at night, they would all go back to her home and Matt and Tyler would bring movies and they would all watch it together at night after Liz cooked dinner for everyone, with Miranda's help... If Caroline fell asleep on the couch, one of the guys would carry her to the bedroom and they would turn out the lights and sleep in her room.

If Caroline needed to talk about anything, her girlfriends were always there for her.

And when Jesse came to meet her at her house any day, Damon and Kai would scare him off and they pretty much threatened him not to speak to Caroline ever. And even if he wanted to apologize, he never got the chance to.

During those days, Tyler started feeling things for her, seeing her in a different way and cared for her in a different perspective. She wanted time and he understood. But when time went on, Tyler and her developed something special she thought would last forever.

But it was this tragedy that had completely changed her. She felt poweless at times and there were times when she thought she could never be in control ever again. Caroline also started seeing herself as a 'dirty object' and she tried so hard to surpress it from others. She always sensed that there was something wrong with her, like she had no purpose, no use. She felt worthless. Like no one cared for her, despite everyone around her. She was nothing, in her point of view. She felt like she was losing her mind. She couldn't let anyone touch her for a long time, and the first time with Tyler - she had a panic attack. Tyler consoled her, and they went on like that for a year before she reached a stage where she could let him and as time went on, it got better and better. She got better, but the way she felt about her after the rape, remained the same. She was still worthless to everyone in her eyes. She couldn't see how much they loved her - that part had been shut closed.

Caroline sat on her bed, the blanket covering her body, and all the lights were on. Klaus walked in, without knocking, with a confused smile daubed on his face.

"You're still up."

"I am…" She uttered, focusing on an empty space in the air between them.

Klaus nodded silently, sitting next to her like he did earlier that night. He touched her shoulder and she suddenly flinched making him pull away his hand, regretfully.

"What happened?"

"…Nothing."

"Caroline… I saw you the other day when you asked me why I didn't do anything whilst you being in a drunken state," He continued. "And tonight... What was it?"

She kept slowly shaking her head and drew her lower lip between her teeth.

"What happened to you?"

"I don't wanna talk about it…"

"Did someone hurt you?"

She remained silent. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring into nothing.

"Tell me…"

"...Why do you wanna know, Klaus?"

"Why? Do I need a reason to care?" He said softly. "Tell me."

"I was… " she inhaled, hugging herself tightly and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Someone... Raped you?"

She nodded.

It kindled a new fury in him. How could someone even dream about hurting such a delicate person? A person who cared about others – put everyone else before her almost all the time? What did she ever do to deserve such a brutal treatment from a man worth calling an animal?

"What's his name?" He asked, his voice suddenly heated.

Caroline scoffed, meeting his eyes and letting him study her sadness. "Don't you mean names?"

Klaus frowned before he acknowledged it. It wasn't just one person it was a gang. How many of those must have forced themselves over her? And why? His stomach churned from the thought of her pain and all he could think about was making them suffer in unimaginable way.  
And now he understood something about her. Why she wasn't that afraid of him at the beginning and even after. She had gone through the worst kind of trauma a human could possibly endure and because of that, she was strong, fearless. This was the reason.

"I was seventeen. It was… That night we all gathered to see a comet and… My boyfriend, for some reason called me, _shallow, stupid_ and _useless_ and it really hurt me because… Part of me knew it was true… And then I was like, ' _okay, Caroline. Let's get drunk because that'll make things better_ '." She smiled to nothing. "I… I was on my way to the washroom when the three men grabbed me… and… I couldn't do anything. Even if I wasn't drunk I couldn't have stopped it… Or the beating…" She gritted her teeth, letting out a hasty breath, as she relived the moment again. "I was so aware of everything that was happening and all I wanted was to make it stop but they –"

Klaus quickly embraced her, wrapping his arms tightly around as her body sank into his brace and he lightly stroked her arm.  
"Shh… It's okay, you don't have to tell me, love." His chin rested against the top of her head as she slipped one arm around him

Caroline lifted her head up to meet his eyes and she didn't know why she said the words that came out of her mouth. "Will you? Until I… Fall asleep?" She pulled him closer and asked him sincerely.

He nodded pulling her closer.

* * *

At three fifteen in the morning, something woke him up. He had fallen asleep.  
At first it was surprising to wake up next to her, her in his arms and then it felt scary. In a good way and it made him smile like an idiot. Klaus laid right next to her, snuggling her into his arms and staring at her just breathing. He couldn't take his eyes off her sleeping form. She was a work of art. Art that draws him in every time he looked at her. Art that makes him find himself and lose himself at the same time.

He pulled her a little closer and kissed her forehead.

"When I first met you," he scoffed lightly. "At the bar, you ignited something in me and in that moment, I just... Knew something about me had instantly changed. It was definitely the beginning of something..." Although I was in denial, he added to himself, slowly tucking her hair behind her ear. "I was a box full of darkness and until now, I didn't realize, you were all the light that I ever needed to be saved. If it wasn't for you, I would have never known I had good in me. You found a part in me, that I wanted gone, Caroline. And you have no idea, how thankful I am for that..." He caressed his thumb against her cheek, a ghost of a smile across his lips. "I haven't been in love before, but I know that I will always and forever feel this way, despite the complete different paths destined for you and me. If I could change anything at all, I would wish for a life together but that's not possible..." he whispered, his eyes teary. "You are miserable here." He had seen the genuine laughter and joy she shared with Katherine whilst reminiscing about their past and Klaus hasn't seen her that way ever. "You deserve all the happiness in this world far away from misery... the betrayals and the lies and revenge... The life you were supposed to have. The one meant for you. You should not be caught in the middle of this mess. Which is why… As much as I don't want to, for many reasons, I have to... Let you go."

He slowly got up from the bed and put the blanket over her nicely. "But first," he said to himself in a harsh whisper, gritting his teeth and balling his fists. He stole a glance from her before leaving the room quietly.

* * *

On their way back to Mystic Falls, they had asked Matt to gather up all that he could about the mysterious yet wealthy Dahlia in Russia as she was the last to have seen Freya Mikaelson – the eldest of the Mikaelsons who inexplicably disappeared. They were hoping that Dahlia could reveal more information about the Mikaelson family and maybe they could get to the eldest sibling and use her as leverage and negotiate a 'family member for Caroline' truce.

They found quite a lot about her. She had the license to operate the Strip Club and according to the documents there weren't any illegimation in her business which seems to have been going on for twenty successful years. The ecdysiasts were brought in the legal route and no suspicion arose about any prostitution issue as everything had gone pretty smooth with no complains about any such. Even then, operating one strip club had that woman put on airs and luck sure had been going her way. The number of customers each day was enough evidence for that!

They weren't interested in her business, rather the sibling that she 'took' years ago and since she never returned to Mikael and Esther, the fact that she would know about Freya Mikaelson was befitting as the lack of any death certificate or any other for that matter proves that she might just be alive. They were hoping for it to be. After all, family seems to be very important for Mikaelsons – they will surely agree to trade.

"Well, that was Matt," he wiggled the phone in his hands, before dropping it to the couch. "I just filled him in about every little detail we found about _Mesthreya_."

"It all sends us back to Dahlia, doesn't it?" Tyler asked, peculiarly and shrugged.

"Maybe there's a way to find out," Jeremy suggested, picking up the picture of the Strip Club that Dahlia owned.

Before Kai and Tyler could answer Carol barged in to the study with a befuddled look on her face. She darted her eyes all around the room and then at the three young men who stood at their positions, not moving a muscle, trying to play dumb. She was a little horrified as they had made such a huge mess.

"What is going on here!?" She asked in an upsetting tone, shaking her head. "Tyler!?"

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Lockwood," Kai waved at her. "Good –" he looked down at his watch. "Morning...? It's 3:32 AM!? Oh, wow."

"Hey, Mom," he leaned against the table still in act. "What's up?"

Her eyes were sleepy and her hair was messed up. She wore her pajamas and held a jug in her hand. Carol's eye widened, as she moved towards and glanced at the picture that displayed on the laptop screen - Mikael Mikaelson and it was then when she finally discovered what they were up to.

No, she thought. Can't be...  
And all her sleep had disappeared.

Kai quickly bent over the chair and shut the screen down in a bolt, although he realized it was too late and they were sure Carol had seen it. Her appalled look and pale white skin was enough justification for that.

"What the hell do you all think you're doing?" She raged inside, giving each of them a look filled with anger and disgust.

"Oh, you know, Mrs. Lockwood," Kai spoke up fast. "Just... Hanging out, right guys?" He fake smiled at both Jeremy and Tyler before continuing. "Since we are footloose and fancy free at the moment... and haven't –"

"Tyler," her voice had a sudden intentness in it. "Tell me," she walked towards the table, slammed the jug on it and picked up Mikael's picture. "You are _not_ doing _this_!"

"Okay," he shrugged. "I'm not _doing_ _that_ ," he pointed at the picture in his mother's hand. Kai and Jeremy snickered.  
She let out an unhappy cry, as she threw the picture onto the table and walked towards her son and gently held his shoulders.

"What are you trying to do?"

"We are trying to find the truth. Truth about the whole 2000 incident. You know the one that all of you keep hiding from us," Tyler crossed his arms, his eyes reflected how stubborn he was.

"With good reason!" She said.

"Why?" He asked. "What happened, that was so bad that you had to make fake medical reports about their deaths, Mom!?"

Her mother's eye widened. "How... did you know that?"

Kai and Jeremy exchanged astound glances. Their suspicions about the reports weren't just a heroic hunch. Reports were indeed fake which means there was more to the story than everyone was letting on. Perhaps what the whole world knew about that night was not what truly happened. And this conversation had just proved everything they knew about the night was a lie.

Tyler scoffed. "You know we thought it was just a gut feeling but now I am damn sure!" He yelled.

"Ugh, Tyler," she continued. "Let it go."

"Tell me what happened," he said, firmly. "Or I'll find it either way."

"I'm doing this for your own –"

"I don't care! It's Caroline!" He yelled. "She's in danger Mom! What is more important than her right now!?"

She knew how to save Caroline and yet the hesitation wasn't allowing her to pay the price. She knew exactly what the Mikaelsons wanted but she didn't want to give it. Because the price to free Caroline was her freedom. But if it was… Why were the Mikaelsons demanding Bill Forbes? Maybe they wanted to take down one by one... She shuddered.

"I – I –"

"If we don't know the truth, how are we supposed to help her!?"

"We'll get Caroline back –"

"How!?"

There was silence. Mayor Lockwood, bit her lower lip, as tears flowed down her cheek.

Kai slowly walked towards Carol and placed a hand on her shoulder, with an apologetic look.

"Mrs. Lockwood," he began. "Caroline has been gone for almost a five days now... She was _kidnapped_. We don't know how she is... We don' know what she's going through."

"And we have to find something – to help her. Just in case Katherine's plan doesn't work. So please –" Jeremy was interrupted.

"What?" She asked hastily. "Wh - what do you mean Katherine's plan?"

"They all came up with a plan to send Katherine to the mansion in person," Tyler explained. "In fact, she's been there for two days and everything seems normal and going according to the plan. But we can't get carried away if she gets caught, who knows what they'll do to Caroline _and_ Katherine?"

"Oh, my god, Tyler..." Carol felt her knees losing its strength as she let herself think of what just happened.

"I know it could be dangerous but…" Kai said. "Kat was our best option because –"

"You – sent Katherine to the Mikaelsons?" She shook her head in dismay as the rest of them looked at her intensely, waiting for her to say further. "Oh god..."

* * *

"Alright!" Klaus said, barging into the guest room and startling the guest enough to give her a heart attack.

"Oh, jeez," Katherine pressed her palm to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. She was in front of the mirror, tying her hair up, wearing her blue tank top and matching shorts.

"I need you to give me some information –"

"Well, I'm about to go to bed so, this conversation about a silly little rock – think we can have it tomorrow."

Klaus put his hands behind his back, flashing is evil smirk. "As a matter of fact, we need to get back on that. But first things first… Caroline isn't here to rescue you unlike earlier today, so you best answer me quick and I disrespect liars, but you knew that already, didn't you? Unless of course, you respond better to torture, I'm more than happy to try that."

Katherine crossed her arms and cleared her throat. "What do you wanna know?"

"About... the three sadists back from Mystic Falls."

"What – sadists?"

"Shall I put it as rapists for more clarity?"

Katherine slouched. Caroline had told him? It was unlikely that Caroline would speak about herself to total strangers. Maybe there weren't... What was going on between the two of them?

"Why... why do you wanna know?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here." He smirked again.

"If Caroline had told you the whole story and left out the bastards sickening names out of it," she continued. "I'm gonna respect that. Why do you need it anyway?"

He took two steps towards her and stopped.

"Very well," he said in a carefree voice. "Are they behind bars?"

"No... Their rich Daddies saved their asses. Twice."

"Hmm... How unfair..." he kept going. "Don't you think? I mean, their lives should be made into an unending sequence of agonizing torture, right? That's what they deserve after what they did to her and I can make it happen."

He was right. It wasn't fair. She remembered the beating Caroline had taken. And after that, the suffering she had endured for a long time. Because of the three men. Klaus was right; they cannot roam around freely as if nothing had happened. They had destroyed someone's life and that's what should happen to them.

Katherine narrowed her eyes at Klaus, as she thought.

"Well," she said. "For starters, they are _not_ from Mystic Falls. They are from Charleston. Their names are, Noah Castle, Ambrose Avery and Jay Karen. Waste of spaces."

"Well you remembered them all too well."

"How could I not?" She said. "I saw Caroline in the woods after we figured she was missing. She was all bruised and – bloody. God, that's an image I'll never get out of my head… I've never seen anything like that and it scared me to the core... I…" She looked up at Klaus and she could sense his tautness. Why was he so upset about all this…?

He could quite imagine the whole scene and it made him angrier. He was going to find them. And when he does, he'll make sure they spend the rest of their mortal lives in exquisite agony wishing for a merciful death and they will wish they never even laid eyes on Caroline. They had messed with the wrong girl.

"Where do you think they are now?"

"How –?" She gave him a bewildered look. "How am I supposed to know?"

"Fine. I'll find them." He said walking towards the door. He came to a halt, holding the door half open, once Katherine's question startled him.

"Um… Why are you so keen on making sure they suffer, again?" Katherine asked quickly.

Because, he thought to himself. I want to end everyone that's hurt her in anyway, destroy everything that frightens her and protect what she holds dear and above all, keep her safe and – happy. That's what I wish for her. That's all I want for her.

But out loud, he had absolutely zilch to say. Nothing seemed to come out of his mouth. He couldn't utter a single thing. It was then when Katherine solved a part of the puzzle – his silence was a missing piece. She had found it strange that Caroline felt so comfortable with the Mikaelsons and why Klaus let her go when Caroline did nothing more than just ask. The look he gave Caroline earlier that night and now he wanting to make the three men suffer… They all fit to the puzzle perfectly drawing a picture and yet the answer was still indistinct.

"You… You care about her…? Like – you totally like her? Oh, wow!" She questioned, under her breath. "I… Really? That's kinda weird because... You are the kidnapper."

"I'm well aware of that, Miss Petr – Katerina," He turned around, his eyes glaring at her once again. Klaus had barely spoken to Katherine while her service at the Mikaelsons years ago, and yet sometimes her name came up whilst everyone teased their big brother about her, as Elijah had taken a liking to her in a way.

"Katherine." He eyed her.

"I don't give a lick about your concepts, whatever your name is; what matters is our common interest in making them pay for their sin," He said austerely, still on his spot. "And this time, _no one_ can save their arses."

* * *

Without wasting any more time, they drove to the Salvatore house and barged in without bothering to ring the bell. They didn't need to wait for an invitation any longer as they have known each other for so long that formalities among that were considered as absurd.

Luckily for them, almost everyone was in the living room. Bonnie was on the couch and Elena was coming down the stairs wearing her blue tank top and cotton pajama pants.  
"Did hope but wasn't expecting this," Kai said. "What are you guys doing up so late?"

"Couldn't sleep…..!" Elena whined out, collapsing next to Bonnie who played with the blanket wrapped around her. By seeing Kai, Jeremy and Tyler's unease looks, all their attention turn to them.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked getting up and concerned.

"We made a mistake by sending my sister over there," Jeremy informed them in a mild tone.

"What are you talking about?" Damon exclaimed, filled with confusion. He joined next to Bonnie, followed by Stefan and Elena.

"They all know her," Jeremy went on, his tone reflected anger. "The Mikaelsons know her."

"That's not possible." Stefan replied, giving the rest an anxious look.

"Yeah, because Katherine's –" Elena trailed.

"Elena," Kai said with an eagerness. "Mrs. Lockwood told us that... Giuseppe Salvatore made her steal something from them in 2009," Kai shot an apologetic glance at Damon and Stefan "And... Well she didn't exactly know what she was doing at that time since... Mr. Salvatore made someone lie to her about it and apparently she thought she was doing the right thing."

Tyler swayed on his feet, his hands tucked into his pockets, "And she didn't know she was robbing the Mikaelsons..."

Elena sighed, rubbing her temples, processing. She felt her knees weakening and she sank into the couch, not knowing what to think. Stefan went to her aid, holding her shoulders, trying to sooth her.

"We should have –" Damon was interrupted by the anger boiling inside of Jeremy.

"What!? We should have waited a little longer? Checked more about the Billionaire family that has our friend kidnapped!?" He screamed, moving towards Damon. "But, no! You just had to send her away didn't you!? You hate her so much that you wanted to get rid of her! If anything happens to her you'd be enjoying at a wake wouldn't you!?"

" _Jeremy_ ," Elena said, standing up and walking towards her little brother. "This isn't Damon's fault."

"She's right, Jer," Bonnie intervened. "You know that."

"Look Jeremy," Damon began, trying to calm the youngest Gilbert down. "You're right, we should have waited –"

Jeremy punched Damon in the face, before he could say anything else, knocking him down.

"Jeremy!" Elena scolded him.

Damon got back up, his nose bleeding, and gave Jeremy a stare that almost looked like he was going to hit him back. But instead he grunted, as Stefan walked in between them, slightly pushing Damon aside.

"I'm not losing her, again." Jeremy announced.

"You won't," Elena said. "I promise." But before she could reach up to him, he rushed outside slamming the door behind him making Elena flinch.

Tyler nodded at Elena and decided to go after his friend. "I've got it." He then left.

* * *

As Klaus walked to the kitchen, he could hear two male voices chattering ceaselessly.

"You're up already," He said to Kol and Elijah who were seated across each other, enjoying their tea. Kol was wearing only his Calvin Klein pajama pants and his hair was a bit messed up as he sipped down his cup of tea. Elijah, was decent - but when has he not been? Then again, it was weird to see him in his blue shirt that was nothing closer to a suit that he would usually wear.

"And so are you, Nik, which is obviously surprising." Kol looked at him as he joined them, pouring himself a cup of tea. Klaus narrowed his eyes at Kol's comment. Usually Klaus too woke up around four in the morning. "Oh and by the way, did you _enjoy_ your sleep? I honestly thought you'd stay in bed for a long time. I guess one year of living as a celibate has driven you crazy." his mischievous look made Klaus uncomfortable as it was followed by matching a matching smile curving up on his lips.

 _Kol opened the door to Klaus' bedroom as he called out his name. The lights were on, his bed was made and there was no sign of him which was weird. Because soon after the game had awkwardly ended, everyone went upstairs.  
_ _He then decided to ask Elijah about it but as he crossed Caroline's room to which the door was cracked opened a bit. He decided to shut it close but then he saw Klaus. Cuddling Caroline. He walked a little closer and looked at the calmed look on their faces, especially his brother's as he held her so closely. Kol smiled. And then he silently shut the door close behind him._

"Shut up."

"Now, what is this, Niklaus," Elijah asked not making eye contact with Klaus. "We haven't called Mrs. Forbes in two days and I no longer understand what our plan is."

Klaus looked down at his cup and said nothing for a while. And then he closed his eyes. "Neither do I, brother. I mean... I didn't plan to..."

"Plan to what?" Elijah asked in a concerned tone, demanding to complete the rest of the sentence. Somehow, Elijah knew what he was going to say, but _Klaus_ needed to admit to it himself. He was no going to help his little brother - not with this. This was something he needed to do himself.

"Look, Elijah, Kol," he gave each of them a look and Kol was no longer carrying his smirk. He had turned serious. "I will _never_ give up on Finn. That is not going to happen, not even if hell freezes over. What I'm saying is... Maybe there's some other way to... You know... I don't want her to be in the middle of this."

"Sure. There were other ways," Elijah said. "But it was _you_ who chose this way because you wanted Bill Forbes to suffer."

"I – I know. It's just... That..." He looked at both of them, their eyes wide opened. He flinched. "Don't look at me like that."

"Then tell us what you're trying to say, for God's sake!?" Kol complained, gesturing.

"I'm not _trying_ to say anything, I _am_ saying it. We need another plan..." Klaus said.

"Like busting Finn out?" Kol asked. "Or the other one?"

"Maybe the other one." Klaus had mildly suggested the idea a day ago to his brothers. Making a deal with Bill Forbes to let him frame someone else to save Finn. In that case both Finn and Bill will have their freedom. But one doesn't deserve it. Not after all the pain that he's caused.

"Sure," Elijah said. "But do you mind telling us why we're aborting the current mission?" He smiled sarcastically, s and this made Klaus narrow his eyes in annoyance.

"You know, you're turning into Kol," He pointed at Kol who raised his eyebrows and held out his palms, proudly. "And that was not a compliment."

"Thank you," Kol muttered under his breath.

"So tell us, brother?" Elijah asked, stubbornly ignoring all else, and making a steeple of his fingers.

"Alright," Klaus said. "If you want me to say it out loud so badly... I fancy her."

Kol almost choked on his tea and then looked from Klaus to Elijah and then back to Klaus. He started laughing as Elijah sat there with a wide smile on his face.

"What's – so funny, Kol?" Klaus glowered.

"Oh..." He sat gasping for air in between cackles. "There's something I swore I'd never hear you say even though we all knew... Damn, now I owe Bex a trip to Nova Scotia..." He wailed out. "Wait - fancy? Fancy as in what? As in love?"

"Maybe." He said in a husky voice. "Kol? You won't say a word of this to anyone, do you understand me?"

"You haven't -"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Does there need to be reasons for _everything_ that I do?" Klaus slammed the cup on the table.

"Do you intend on telling her?" Elijah asked, in his calm tone.

"No. And neither of us will speak about this ever again."

"Why won't you consider telling her, brother? This is the first time you've ever felt connected to someone besides family. I'd like to believe it's a good thing."

"If we're talking about connection, Lijah, should we talk about your conversation with the pregnant lady upstairs?" Kol teased. "You both looked pretty connected to me –"

"Kol, enough with the nonsense," Elijah replied with a sheepish stare. "I was just having a civil conversation with the opposite gender, which you are clearly unable to do, if it weren't for sex."

"Okay, that's enough talk about that," Klaus banged his hand on the table. "I need your help in finding three men in Charleston. Noah Castle, Ambrose Avery and then there's Jay Karen. This is extremely important."

"What?" Kol was obviously confused.

"Who are they?" Elijah asked.

"Just some men I've been looking for." Klaus replied, inattentively.

"Since when?" Elijah asked.

"Who are these people?" Kol joined in.

"Since now. People who wronged m - well -"

"Wronged you? When was that?"

"It'd really help the situation if you all would minimise the amount of questions asked here. Will you help me? I need them here as soon as possible."

"Fine."

* * *

 **Mesthreya: Mikael, Esther and Freya.**

 **TVD finale left hope for Klaroline but that is the beginning of another story - Congrats to our Klaroline Family!**  
 **I guess it's the reward for never losing hope. You know what they say, good things come to those who believe, better things come to those who are patient, and the best things come to those who don't give up!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10  
** All I knew this morning when I woke up  
Is I know something now, Know something now I didn't before.  
 _\- Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran._

* * *

After a typical Mikaelson breakfast, gathered at the long table, with arrogant laughter and mockery towards one another, they had all scattered around to help Klaus with his task in finding those three men. Henrik was given to locate them, whilst Kol and Klaus readied the very isolated room, with the appropriate tools for the arriving guests. Elijah had decided to go with the guards on the hunt and due to Rebekah's stubbornness, they all agreed on her joining her big brother on the rampage but only to observe and learn.

All of them were taking a little break from their work – just for the time being, until their revenge was accomplished although it had taken a new turn due to Klaus and now they were chasing their enemy's enemy. Sort of.

Elijah had taken a vacation for himself, and Klaus still had to leave for his job – sometimes although his assistant Kaleb Westphall usually handled things smoothly unless it was something that needed his presence. Rebekah usually worked from home, whilst Kol wasn't involved, his associates were fully booked, travelling around the world and half of the profit his companions gained belonged to him. He knew they would be fine without him for now. They had to be – given his temper if anything went impropriety.

Katherine and Hayley had skipped breakfast, mostly in fear of having to witness yet another brutal act that seemed too normal to the family and it made their stomach churn with distress. And so Elinah had made sure breakfast was sent to them.

Katherine was stressing herself in her dispensed room, pacing back and forth, and thinking about their current slipshod situation. She had to get out of there, with Caroline _and_ Hayley. Though she despised the latter for valid reasons, she felt guilty for dragging her into this. Hayley being here was dangerous for her and her unborn baby, although they have never done anything physically to her. Yet. But it was not safe. Katherine had put her in danger. Like she did with her parents long ago… Not a day has passed in her life that she did not think about that tragic night that had changed everything for her. Things would have turned out differently had she not snapped at Damon. If she hadn't gotten so drunk they wouldn't even be on that bridge in the first place. Her parents would still be alive. Her daughter would be with her. If…

This time, she was going to get all of them out safely. And she had to it fast.

And Caroline… Well, she didn't want to face Klaus after falling asleep next to him and actually liking it. She couldn't get last night out of her mind. He was all she could think of and the more she tried to prevent the walls from breaking down, the louder it collapsed inside her.

His lips had been so close to her and she knew if they weren't interrupted she would have kissed him for sure. She had to agree, the fact that it didn't happen frustrated her a lot more than she would let herself admit, and she hated herself for that truth.

How firm and yet lightly he held her with his strong arms in bed and how close they were to each other – only inches apart if anything had her mind twirling with tempting thoughts.

They had stolen glances from each other, smiled at times and Caroline felt the same chills running down to her toes, as the memory of his electric touch on her bare skin of her arm reckoned vividly.

Lying so close to him the previous night had definitely been torture for her, as there was just one thing she had wanted to do so badly – that was all she had thought. She wondered how it would like to be kissed by him.

However it took all her willpower to not act on her temptations and part of her was glad she controlled herself and the other was exasperated.

She couldn't feel this way about another man. Because if she lets herself fall again, when reality would set in, she knew she would not be able to get up this time. Because this was different than any other that she's experienced. He made her feel different. Better. Worth it. And that was scary. Because all men that came to her life had taken something from her, after making her feel expandable. Starting from Bill Forbes who snatched her right of knowing what a father's love meant – or a father at all.

And she had no idea of Klaus' true intentions…

Caroline shook her head, trying to dismiss the 'new feelings' agitating her. It's probably because he treats her nicely – rather than the hostage way he was meant to...

But there were moments that she couldn't deny being real. Moments she felt him being genuine about his 'feelings'. The way she was looked at by him, like she had never been before. Like she was his... everything. Not something inferior to be tossed aside when something better came along. She felt like she was the best that came along. Like she was not being second choiced as she had been so many other times in her life.

History may have stopped repeating after all.

Klaus had said things she always wanted to hear – not even Tyler Lockwood said those to her despite being together since High School.

Tyler. Yes. That's the reason. Tyler's dalliance with a certain brunette lady had hurt Caroline more than ever and she was vulnerable, and needed comfort even if it were from the devil himself. She had welcomed a lone wolf into her territory needing a reason to forget the man she loves.

Loved.

He was her past.

In her present, Klaus has kidnapped her. He threatened to end her best friends, if she were to disobey him. In her present, he has a deep past that was kept secret – a road finally stopping at an end already painted for them in shades of their enmity.

Maybe she is trying to build another wall of lies in hope that if she did so; she wouldn't have to face the truth that would once again make her ecstatic. For a while, before it's all snatched from her like the previous times.

Why hasn't he hurt her once? Why had he not taken advantage of her when he could have?

 _"Because I didn't want you wake up and hate yourself in the morning."_ His words echoed in her ears and her heart skipped a beat.

"Ugh!" She growled out loudly and threw her pillow away, in annoyance.

"Please don't go there," She whispered under her breath. "Don't go there Caroline." It's not safe…

* * *

She was fighting a battle in her mind, trying to keep her feelings at bay, when the man responsible for all her glitches walked right in, with a tray in his hands. Her heart skipped a beat and then another.

She closed her eyes and sighed quietly, wanting to give in, to forget everything she had just tried to convince herself with.

"Good morning, love," Klaus spoke in his sensual accent, smirking at her. "Well since you avoided breakfast, I thought I'd bring it here."

The tray was piled high with toast, crispy bacon and beans on egg with a steaming cup of Earl Grey on the side. Impressive, since she never knew he could cook, but depressive since she knew this would add up to his qualities.

"Did you sleep well last night, sweetheart?" He asked, with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

He sat the tray on the coffee table as he handed her a cup of tea.

"I slept okay." Caroline said, a little too cheerfully, taking the tea.

A secret grin appeared on Klaus' face.

"Just okay?" A devilish smile spread across his face as he continued. "I presumed I was a good sleeping partner."

Caroline scoffed as she gulped down her drink, at once, nervously.

* * *

"Katherine's not picking up…" Elena shook her head and gave Stefan a look. "I've left her like a million messages."

"Did she text last night?" Bonnie asked, sitting on the couch with a pillow on her lap, worried.

"Yeah, I mean… She said everything was fine but…" Elena said. "You know, maybe Mrs. Lockwood is wrong. Maybe it wasn't Katherine who stole from them."

"Or _maybe_ ," Damon said after a moment, concern scraped on his serious face. "It's not her texting."

"No, I know," Elena replied. "My sister Damon… It's definitely Katherine texting."

"Then maybe they are making her do it." He smiled sarcastically.

Elena frowned.

"Could be it," Stefan joined. "They maybe forcing her to play along."

Everyone remained silent.

"Here's what I don't get. Why Giuseppe _impelled_ Katherine to steal – whatever – from the Mikaelsons." Damon complained. "Aside from being a complete sadistic dick, I didn't think he could do that to Katherine. And why would Katherine even agree to –"

Elena's phone rang, shutting Damon up immediately, with wide eyes. It was Katherine.

She quickly picked up and put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear.

"Katherine!" She chirped. "Are you okay!?

Damon let out a sigh of relief, quietly.

"Yeah!" Katherine tried to sound convincing and less tensed as she looked at the man standing in front her, arms crossed against his chest. The phone was put on speaker – his demand. "I'm okay. Listen –"

"Why didn't you pick up earlier? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah – everything's okay Elena," she scoffed. "Why are you so edgy?"

"We found out that you and the Mikaelsons have history together," Elena added. "And I was so worried that –"

"How?" her voice was filled with surprise.

"Mrs. Lockwood told us... But we don't know anything about it. When was that, Katherine? And what did you even steal?"

Klaus made a mental note. Lockwood.

Katherine sighed out loudly. "Lena," she began. "I know that you're worried but do you really want me to get into that now? It's a very long story and equally boring as well." She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, fine," Elena replied. "But –"

"Elena," she alleged. "I'm okay. And Caroline's okay too. I just… Need a little more time." She whispered. "That's all. I promise I'll be careful."

"Damon thinks that they are making you tell us what we wanna hear, is that true?"

Katherine shot a look at Klaus who raised his chin up and dazzled back at her, asking her to stay in act.

There was an instant before she answered.

"No," Katherine said, hoping her sister would notice the tautness concealed in her voice. "No. Nothing like that," She timidly scoffed again, sending a hint. She prayed that Klaus wouldn't be the one to notice it, but she knew he already had. So Katherine changed her tone. "What I stole from them wasn't worth anything – they don't really care about it. Look, Elena, I have gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Bye. Send my love to Jer."

"But wait –" Elena tried to enquire more, but she hung up already.

Elena glanced back at everyone, confused.

"Something's not right…" Damon muttered.

* * *

"I'm gonna need you to get me the stone, you know?" Klaus grabbed the phone from Katherine's hand as soon as she hung it up.

"I don't even know where it is."

"Maybe not," he replied. "But since the Lockwoods seem to know about your encounter with us, my bet is they're well aware of where it might be. And you are going to help me get it."

* * *

"Look, man," Tyler said gripping the arms of the chair. "I know that you're worried about Katherine. We all are. Because we made that mistake, they're in more danger than ever."

"Exactly," Kai said. "Isn't that why we started digging up in the first place? In case something went wrong with Kat's plan? And now we have a lead on this – Russian lady who might have the answer to ending this."

"Might," Jeremy scoffed.

"We won't know unless we try," Kai smiled. "And we have to try."

"I know... It's that... I just got my sister back and now she's in an unknown kind of danger. I'm just worried."

"We understand," Tyler replied. "And we would totally understand if you stay here,"

"No," Jeremy said. "I'm coming with you. And we'll find the sibling. Or atleast something! We _have_ to."

They all nodded.

"Well then," Kai smirked. "Pack your bags. We're going to Russia. Tonight."

* * *

"Liz, please," Bill Forbes tried to calm his ex wife down.

"It's been three days since they haven't called, Bill," She said nervously. "They told me to get you and I did! Why haven't they called."

"Look, I'm sure they will," He replied, making her sit on the couch. "Do you want me to go to –"

"No!" She yelled. "You are staying here. Just in case they call..."

He nodded. "Alright. But, Liz, please. Pull yourself together. I'm sure Caroline is just fine."

Liz had every right to be paranoid about this and he understood. Whatever he said was only to soothe her and not because he believed it. And that, scared him.

"I hope so," She murmured. "But why haven't they called!?"

* * *

Henrik sat in front of the computer drilling his eyes into it until his brother Klaus walked in, with a ghost of a smile grimaced on his face.

"Henrik, mate," Klaus said, rubbing his hands together, desperate for a optimistic answer.

"Nik," he replied. "I've got what you asked for." He handed Klaus a piece, with a smile and a dry smile transformed Klaus' face. "Although one of them died in a car accident just last week..."

"Oh. Well then…" He trailed. "Thank you." He nodded politely, giving a friendly pat on his shoulders. "You might wanna get outside and get some fresh air, Henry."

"I'll think about it." He called out as Klaus quickly walked out of the door, glancing at the note and almost collided with Kol.

"Easy there Nik," Kol gestured.

"Henrik's got their location," Klaus said, a beam surfacing on his lips.

"That's lovely," He teased. "And in the meantime, what are your plans? Besides not telling Care-doll about your feelings and divulging your intimate thoughts about her?"

Klaus stiffened.

"If you won't tell her then maybe I should."

"Kol."

He laughed. "Relax brother. I won't." he smirked. "But you know... If you keep doing that, she might get the wrong impression about you. You don't want her to run away, do you? I think she likes you, but you know women don't talk first about these things. You have to take the first step in these kind of tensed up situation slash relationship."

Klaus shot him a glance at once, as he thought about what his brother had just said..

"This is coming from a man who sleeps with five different women at different times _on_ the same bloody day," Klaus grinned. "Yeah, you _must_ know a lot about women and relationships."

" _That_ " Kol drew back, raising his tone and showed his index finger. "Happened only _once_!" He widened his eyes and after a moment his shoulders sagged. "I'm just trying to help you a bit Nik."

Klaus scoffed.

"I've got the room you asked ready. Oh, now are you going to tell me who they are?"

"All in good time brother," he said and walked past him as Kol pursued his lips in irritation of all the mystery surrounding him.

"Hey, Henry!" Kol said.

Henrik glanced over his shoulders and shot a quick smile Kol, walking in, before returning back to his work. "Hey, Kol."

"What are you doing?" Kol leaned against the table, squinting his eyes at the computer screen filled with confusing tabs.

"Just found out what Nik asked me to and now – Ah hoping to finish this device," he held out a large plug-in circular electronic object. "That would reduce the effects of the casket we hold…"

Henrik has been working on it for three whole years and he was almost done with it. Although he knew he would not be able to completely neutralize the blast, it would be subdued to some level.

"I see," Kol muttered, and lifted an eyebrow. "When will you be done, then?"

"Almost certainly, never. Why?" He asked absently, still noting down on his pad and looking back at the screen. "Don't you have any photoshoots lately?"

"I thought a little vacation for me would be good. You know? Enjoying life."

Henrik dropped the pen immediately and shot a sharp look at his older brother who flinched at his stare with confusion. Kol shook his head a bit and raised his shoulders, still puzzled.

" _Enjoying_ here? I thought your definition of enjoyment was lots of booze and half-dressed ladies rubbing themselves against and around a pole."

"What?" Kol scoffed for about a moment and then stopped. "Alright," he agreed. "It is. I just thought I should hang out with my little brother like we used to." Kol slapped lightly on his back. "Come on! Remember – before I got all famous and noticed by the ladies – sometime around last year," he said arrogantly, glancing up at the ceiling. "And it was fun."

"The ladies?"

"No," he frowned. "Us hanging out. Listen... I... was wondering if you wanted to do that thing we did... You know our little secret trip we take? You wanna join me again? It's been quite some time since we last went there." He said."I've been... missing her a lot lately."

An obscure smile graced his lips as he thought about it. He remembered the times with Kol and Rebekah there, and when Rebekah left to New Zealand – it was just Kol and Henrik. Elijah and Klaus never went with them; they didn't want to. And afterwards, they never offered them to join and kept it going on for a long time and did it in secrecy. Not that they would be upset about it.

And whenever they were there, with her, they got an uncanny happiness that was inexplicable. They felt at peace.

"Me too."

* * *

He closed the door, as silently as possible behind their backs. They were standing in a huge room vacant except for a large portrait concealed in a silver silk clothe in the middle of the room and two tables aside it. Two candles topped it, unlit. The room was dim-it and it was clean, despite the handful number of visits.

The two brothers walked slowly viewing the picture and peeled the cloth down, revealing a blonde lady with beautiful brown eyes. They kneeled in front of it with a huge smile.

"Kol," Henrik muttered. "Was Mother this beautiful in real?"

"Yes," he replied touching his brother's head. "If anything, she was prettier. Even more than Bex." He sneered and Kol smiled back.

"Is it strange that I miss what I don't remember?"

Kol looked back at his brother apologetically. Something in him hurt. Of course Henrik wouldn't remember. He was only one while the yet raw cord to his mother was ripped from him. He didn't deserve it. What child did?

"But you know enough about her, by now, don't you?" Kol said with a beam.

"Yes. She was sweet and kind. She loved us all equally and never once scolded anyone. She attended to us with love and passion. Her favourite was brewed mint tea – like everyone else and her favourite snack was caramel apple, just like ours. She adored to see the sunset every day and never missed one. Her favorite season was spring. Because of her obsession flowers – all kinds. She never preferred one type of flower over the other – like she didn't with us…. She would sing a lullaby to us every night before we fall asleep, listening to her magical voice." Henrik turned to Kol with gloomy eyes. "A voice that I... Don't remember..."

"I don't either, not that well..."

They both sighed looking up at their mother.

"I've seen Elijah visit Mother but... Why do you think Nik doesn't come here at all?" Henrik asked. "Do you think he doesn't want to feel anything beside the anger?"

"I think that is it."

"But what about now, Kol?" He asked sincerely. "He's changed right? I think he really fancies her. Have you seen the way he looks at her and just smiles?"

"I have. He's changed."

"I like him better this way."

"It's the Nik I remember when I was a boy."

"But..." Kol looked back at his brother. "Mother was killed by... Caroline's parents... right? And Finn…"

"Well… Her parents did play a part in Mother's – death and… Her Father in Finn's capture. But none of this is her fault, right mate?" He replied, seizing Henrik's shoulder in a friendly way and he nodded.

"Right." Henrik smiled. "She seems nice. I do like her a lot."

"Me too."

* * *

Klaus wended his way to Caroline's bedroom invariably wearing an expression of contented blithe, as he held a little, navy blue rectangular velvet covered box in his hands.

He had stopped at various jewelry stores on his way back from work the other day, which was why he was late. He had never given jewelry or any other for that matter to anyone in his life and so he was clueless of what to choose. And so he had bugged Rebekah to help him out; sending her pictures of almost all the bracelets from three different stores, complaining to her about how none of them matched to Caroline's standard, before finally settling for the most expensive one in the store that satisfied him a bit.

Caroline rested her chin on her palms, leaning against the balcony, gazing in amazement as the sight of the swaying flowers to the tender breeze filled her with awe. Klaus smiled, stopping at a safe distance from her, adoring how beautiful she looked even when she did absolutely nothing. The look on her face was so peaceful and that put him into a light trance. The dress she wore flowed down to her knee, the fabric lacing her kneecaps. The whiteness of Caroline's dress complimented her pale complexion as well as her green eyes, making her look younger and even more beautiful, if that was possible.

Caroline caught a glimpse of his presence and abruptly turned around. She blinked and then a warm smile coated on her lips, she had no idea why. But she had… missed him although it had been only an hour since she last saw him.

"Klaus."

"You seem to fancy the garden view a lot, sweetheart," he said in his lilting British accent that made her knees slightly weaker. "Why don't you go down there and enjoy it a bit more? I'll take you." He flashed his most winning smile as she walked towards him, in light steps.

And with that, her mind drifted back to what she had just been thinking.

"I thought I was a hostage," she said raising her eyebrows.

"You're not –"

"I'm not?" she asked sounding a bit harsher than she had expected to.

" _No_ , you're not."

"But you did kidnap me," she fixed her stare on him. "Didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. Isn't that why you're here?" he stepped closer to her, his eyes pulling her into a magnetic gaze. She backed away until the screen door hit her back. She swallowed. "But I…"

"Why?" She asked in a tremulous voice. "Why did you? And what did my Dad do? And Mom? And the Council? Why do you hate them so much?" Because as far as Caroline knew, they are not capable of anything remotely evil. And because of that, why the Mikaelsons wanted revenge was beyond her.

Klaus unglued his eyes from hers and shut it close, letting out a warm growl.

He tensed up. How could he tell her? And where would he even begin?

"Tell me."

"Caroline, let it go."

"No."

He tilted his head, giving her a look. He slid the little present he got for her into his pocket and sighed.

She eyed him stubbornly, trying hard not to look down at his lips because she was as sure as the stars that shine above them, that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from giving in, for some reason she could not fathom.

"Caroline, sweetheart," he started. "It happened years ago." He took her left arm and rubbed his thumb against her palm lightly, trying to sound convincing. "It –"

"Then tell me what _it_ is?"

Klaus shook his head in defeat. "I…" he trailed off, and looked into her wilful eyes. "Bill Forbes took from us… Something very important."

"What was it?"

"It's not a – Look –" he exhaled. "Don't make me lie to you, Caroline."

"Okay," She scoffed. "Then tell me the truth."

"Why are you like this?" he muttered under his breath and looked back at Caroline's unchanged firm expression on her face, demanding an honest answer from him. He knew she was stubborn and it would be difficult to persuade her or talk her out of this. "I'll tell you," he muttered, "When the time is right."

"When will _that_ be?" she asked. "When you wear your accent out?"

He let out a mirthless sneer, arching an eyebrow at her. "We wouldn't want that now would we? Since you're so," he smirked. "Besotted by it." He watched in amaze as red leaked into her cheeks. She nervously blinked before trying to walk past him, but he moved closer instead, trapping her.

"So, I was right wasn't I, love?" he said, in a bare whisper, his arrogant smirk never leaving his lips. Her heart felt like it was going to leap from her chest."You're besotted by it."

Caroline slightly shook her head and shoved him as hard as she could. "You're so hateful!" She started walking away but Klaus reached out and grabbed her arm. His hands slid down to her waist, and maintained its light strokes, pulling her closer to him, until her chest pressed against his. His other hand enthused at the back of her neck making a shiver go up her spine. He lightly pulled her even closer, streaming his nose against her cheek. Feeling his warm breath against her neck she closed her eyes.

"I'm hateful, hm? ... Really?" He murmured into her ears, tingling her entire body. "Why is that sweetheart?"

"Y-yes..." she muttered back. "You... you kidnap me. And then..." Klaus kissed her ear, letting the tip of his tongue to gently caress the delicate area at the base of her ear. A soft moan escaped her lips and Klaus simply smiled at his victory. He moved his lips down to her neck and kissed it, trailing the length of her neck until he reached her collar bones, placing wet kisses along on her. She exhaled and her chest rose up. He followed the trial, until he reached back to her ears and whispered again, still smiling.

"And then...?"

"And then... threatened my friends and family and tried to kill Katherine." She replied.

"I didn't –"

"Then you hold her as a hostage," She opened her eyes. "Just like me."

He looked down at her blue eyes. "You. Are. Not. A hostage," he pulled her closer with every word he said. He stared down at her with a serious expression and then rubbed his nose along the side of hers.

"Yes I am," she said stubbornly. "I am... You want me here to get to my Father. You want me to spill secrets about the council. But I don't know anything."

"I don't need to know anything about the council, love, how many times do I need to say that? Shall I carve the words into my forehead?" He asked, sarcastically, "Besides, I know everything about them...I _did_ kidnap you to get to Bill Forbes... But that was before," he looked deep into her eyes. "Now... I want you here, for me..."

The way he said it, she wanted to believe so badly that it ached and yet she was fearful of doing so. She wanted to just give in, just for a moment...Her eyes slid down to his lips and without thinking anymore about anything, she moved forward, pressing her lips against his, surprising both of them.

He responded immediately, slowly at first as their tongues met and then it grew more intense. His mouth felt so warm against hers, the caress of his lips was softer than she had imagined it would be. He tasted tentatively with his tongue, and Caroline opened her mouth with a low moan letting him explore more as the kiss grew more passionate. She knotted her fists in his shirt, pulling him closer towards her. He groaned softly into her mouth and she joined in with another moan. His arms circled her, pushing himself closer against her and Caroline deepened the kiss, sending wild tremors along his nerves, evoking from his sensation he had never known he was capable of feeling it – not the way she was making him feel.

He pulled her up by her waist and placed her on the table, almost knocking out the white fancy vase. He moved down to her neck, sucking gently as her fingers ran through his hair before abruptly pulling him into a hungry kiss, with a fervent urgent. Caroline's legs were then quickly around his hips, as she wandered her hands on his body as did his. He held firmly on her hips, stroking it, concentrating on her lips.

He suddenly pulled back. She blinked at him.

"I do... I do..." he murmured. "Want this but I'm afraid this isn't the time, lov –" she had reached for him and pulled him closer, rest of the words got lost against her mouth. Their kiss deepened and she moaned into his mouth, turning him on more than ever and for a moment, he wanted to just stay like that forever. His hands roamed around her thighs and then it reached for the strap of her dress, teasing off her shoulder.

And then they heard someone's deliberate cough behind them.

"Ahkhem..." Klaus quickly pulled away, and glanced over his shoulders to see his big brother, hands tucked into his pocket, standing at the doorway, his eyes averted from them – staring into nothing.

"Oh my god!" Caroline muttered, putting her strap back on breathlessly. She jumped down from the table, pushing Klaus aside and knocked down the vase. She gasped loudly as it crashed onto the marble floor, breaking into pieces. She looked at Klaus and then at Elijah with a wide eye.

"I – I'm... I didn't – I'm sorry." She kneeled down to pick up the pieces.

"It's – alright love," Klaus replied, motioning her to leave it be.

"Yes, Ms. F-Forbes. It's only a vase." Elijah joined in.

"Caroline," she smiled at the older Mikaelson. "It's Caroline."

"Alright, _Caroline_. You need not worry about that. I'll have one of the maids attend to it." He smiled at her kindly, before looking right at his younger brother. "And _Niklaus_ ," he said in a much louder tone, a slightly wry smile coated on his otherwise serious face. "Didn't mean to _intrude_ , but I had to inform you about my departure. Which is now."

He stood there awkwardly for while, just looking at Elijah before he swayed on his feet towards him, in his haze state.

"Alright then," he said. "Be safe, brother. And if our sister causes any sort of trouble, just anesthetize her." He joked.

"I heard that!" came Rebekah's voice from outside, and she appeared next to her brother. "I came to say bye to Caroline, but I see I get to kill two birds with one bloody stone, Nik. See ya soon, Caroline! You too Nik." She said as she walked past Elijah with a handbag, and jogged down the stairs in a haste.

"Be careful, Bekah!" Klaus called after her.

Elijah scoffed. "I'll be back within two days," he informed. "When I do, we can discuss more about the – _alterations_ and in the meantime, Niklaus, I expect you to make a decision to which you can stick as we are all fine with anything that will help our brother." He smirked, giving a nod before leaving.

Klaus' face hardened with a frown as he turned around, thinking about what Elijah had meant. Caroline stood next to the table on which she was making out with Klaus, just moments ago. And as soon as his eyes met hers, her cheeks flushed to the colour of scarlet. A devilish grin smeared on his lips, making her more uncomfortable.

"Well," he began, as he loomed closer to her. "Do you intend on continuing where we left off?"

Caroline shot him an irritated look.

"Now, why are you angry, love?"

"That... Wasn't supposed to happen..." She muttered under her breath, thinking of how what was wrong felt so right.

"And whose fault was that?" He smirked.

"Shut up." She murmured, stomping past him, towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you –" she slammed into Kol who exchanged glances with Klaus and then a look of mischief flashed across his face. Henrik was behind Kol and he smiled at Caroline. She smiled back despite being a little annoyed.

"Well, well," he said, putting his arms around her shoulders. "What on Earth has Nik done to you?" He wiggled his eyebrows, as he walked away with her towards the stair. She had her arms crossed against her chest, and clearly she was upset about something. Henrik followed them.

Klaus sighed, taking out the box and staring at it.

"Nothing," she replied. "Besides being a complete dick sometimes."

"Yeah, _that_ he is," Kol said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Would you like to head outside for a while?" Henrik asked. "I mean the garden."

Yes she would. She needed an atmosphere away from Klaus Mikaelson and his smugness. She needed to stop thinking about the kiss and how it felt. She needed to stop wanting more. But she did.

She smiled. "Sure..."

And they tread towards the horizon of greenery fading into the final glow of the settling sun.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11  
** So keep your head up in the clouds.  
Live tomorrow now  
Run rings 'round roses til we all fall down.  
Keep dancing till your last song's sung.  
Til your last breath's done  
Run rings 'round roses til we all fall down  
Til we all fall down.  
- _Gabrielle Aplin_

* * *

Both the brothers had made her laugh until her stomach hurt, with their practical and literal jokes until she was gasping for air. Between catching breaths, Caroline realized, she had never been this exhausted from laughing so hard. They also shared their most embarrassing moments, after making her swear not to reveal any of it to anyone – ever.

Kol took pictures of their evening together in the garden, as Caroline enjoyed the flowers and later crammed the three of them into numerous selfies, making hilarious faces himself, claiming to keep them as good memories. He was delighted to see how Henrik's behavior had changed in the past few days. He would barely utter five words a day and here he was, creasing up, coming up with jokes and making conversation with his mood lighting up by the second.

And now, after a long while, they were calmly sitting under the slow dancing infinite stars that spread a haze of serenity throughout, as the flowers around them swayed to a natural rhythm.

Caroline looked around. It was hard to believe that this was once just a piece of land when there was colour everywhere; lights around them emphasized the beauty of it. The tantalizing fragrance gently drifted through the air creating an array of heady floral scents, however, it wasn't calming the pang of distress she felt surrounding her, as her mind continuously prompted on one subject.

She lazily brought her knees up to rest her chin upon and she hugged her legs with her arms, letting out a tired sigh. "Where did they go?" Henrik and Kol both glanced back at Caroline. "Rebekah and Elijah?"

"Washington. Family business and all!" Kol exclaimed, bringing up the camera towards his face and capturing another picture of Caroline, before she could block it with her hand. He sneered. "I am going to make Nik do unspeakable things when he asks for these pictures and only then, will I allow him to have them." His eyes shimmered with mischief and Henrik chuckled under his breath to his older brother's comment.

"Guys..." her voice was so low it was scarcely audible and yet the infused solemnity seized their attention. Kol glided the camera beside him and furrowed his brow at her with a glimmer of a smile on his lips. Henrik turned around, tilting his head to a side, as his brown eyes glistened under the lights directed at them. His hair, dark and spiked up, had a slight sheen and the way he smiled at her made her feel like it was either a young Elijah or Kol sitting right beside her.

"Why am I here?" She carried on in her drowsy tone, still resting her chin on her knees, shifting her glance between the two men, whose faces had fallen as soon as she asked what she was not supposed to. But she needed to know – she had the right to know, after all, she was caught up in it. "I just want someone to explain it to me in a way that would make sense. I need someone to tell me the truth about all of this. Because there's only one single thing I know – that I know nothing and that's driving me crazy..." she scoffed lightly, lifting her head up and sadly smiling at them.

"Care-doll," the nickname Kol had picked up for her, not long ago, sounded so normal to her all of a sudden. She felt like she had been used to it forever. Like she was used to everyone else around her. Like she had always known this family and they had been a part of her life all along. There was something within them, that seemed so familiar but hard to explain and yet she had perfectly fitted there like the missing piece of the puzzle. "Trust me. It's easier to not know things sometimes." However, he knew would hurt Caroline and he remembered promising Klaus that he would not tell her.

"Kol," She protested, landing a hand on Kol's palm and he could see the desperation in those eyes as he did the hint of innocence in them. He had not acknowledged when, but she had become important to him as someone important to his brother. Like family. And it didn't even sound strange in his head because she was the one who had made them all feel alive in death – Klaus more than anyone else. They were broken for so long but she somehow mended all their pieces together and they had started living without realizing. Before her, laughter wasn't shared within the walls of a Mikaelson home and now, everyone had a reason to smile and dwell in little things, engaging in silly activities besides their scheming for revenge though there was no forgetting about Finn or forgiving for their forever lost Mother.

"Nik wouldn't be so pleased if I told you."

But would it be so wrong in telling? Everyone deserves the truth, no matter how wretched it is, but would she still want to know it if she knew? It's inevitable that all parents ruin their children to some extent, some fail, others leave incurable immortal scars and the rest destruct everything in them beyond repair. And if Caroline does find the truth, it could be blight on her happiness and Klaus knew it.

"I won't tell him. I promise." She shook her head, eyebrows raised together, a trace of displeasure dawning on her face as it sprang into her mind that she would not be getting any answers from them. She slowly averted her head away from them, and stared at the flowers moving to the flurry of the cool air. Kol and Henrik both felt sorry for her; she was simply clueless and yet hauled into the middle of a catastrophe, stuck between the crossfires.

"Hey," Henrik began, getting up from his spot and shifting in front of her. "We will tell you, when the time is right." He genuinely smiled at her hoping she would buy it, hoping she would let it go for now and clearly oblivious of how unmalleable she was.

"Klaus keeps saying that," she scoffed. "At least tell me _something._ If it's about my parents, I _need_ to know." She watched how their expression had changed along with the subject. She did not know the reason behind everyone's reluctance in opening up to her about it, but she believed it all led back to the Council – her parents included. _Had they hurt the Mikaelsons physically? But why? Took something valuable? L_ _ike what? Money? Property?_ But none of those made much sense. Caroline was not one to give up until she found out what it was that everyone had kept secret. Whatever it was, it was no ordinary conflict – it was prodigious and she was afraid when the truth shall unveil, there would be a massive implosion.

* * *

Klaus watched her from the balcony of his room as if he was enjoying an interesting TV show but he knew this was far better than anything he has seen. She laughed, ran and posed for pictures with his siblings and he couldn't help but smile at how connected she was feeling with his family. He was not jealous or insecure about Kol as his intentions towards her were no longer impure. He could see them getting along with her and that made him pleased. There was music in her delight laughter that warmed his heart and took his breath away. Her smile would put all those flowers around her to shame and anyone who has seen it would understand what perfection was. She is beautiful and yet unaware of it and infatuated allures without knowing it. She was like a trap set to capture him and he had walked in, unknowingly at first then, willingly. And if he were given the choice again, he would only find her sooner and be trapped for longer.

He watched her as she followed them back into the house. He returned to his room and slid the door close behind him, with a faint smile. And then his phone beeped.

 **Elijah:  
** Ran into small  
complications. Will  
be a day late than  
expected.

Klaus shook his head feeling a bit annoyed at that, but he cleared out his mind knowing the fact that his brother would succeed in getting these men since he knew it was important to Klaus. He felt blessed since Elijah never really questioned as much as the others and when he was told it was important, he understood. Maybe it was because he was older, wiser. And Klaus could guarantee that Elijah would fix whatever these complications are as long as it wasn't a certain blonde brat who rambles too much.

 **Niklaus:  
** Is complications  
a fancy word  
for our beloved  
sister?

 **Elijah:  
** Noi

He frowned looking down at the text in confusion, trying to understand it when he received another.

 **Elijah:  
** No, it isn't  
you wanker!

 **Elijah:  
** She is not a  
bloody wench  
Niklaus.

 **Elijah:  
** You're a ridiculous  
narcissist. An  
antifeminist.

He let out a scoff and shook his head from side to side when he acknowledged that Rebekah must have snatched the phone from Elijah in a fit of rage. She has always wanted to take part in such and as much as Klaus and the others wouldn't like to admit it, she was good at fighting and she had proved that numerous times. They just never really wanted to let her, as they were afraid of her getting hurt, which was one of the reasons why they never let her leave alone, unless of course there was no other option left. And that rarely was the case.

 **Niklaus:  
** Alright, alright..  
Do tell Elijah to  
take care of you and  
not to listen to you that  
much. Actually, at all. ;)

 **Elijah:  
** She doesn't need  
someone to take  
care of her. -.- And go  
to hell, NIKLAUS.

 _Woman_ , he sneered. _Always so difficult and stubborn and strange._

 **Elijah:  
** Sure.

And he knew, just like that, that the last one was from Elijah. He threw his phone onto his couch, took out his shirt tossing it on his bed and got into the shower.

* * *

"Well, well, well, well," Kol's ecstatic voice floated from the doorway, causing Klaus to halt his work and look up from his sketch pad at him. He narrowed his eyes at his little brothers walking into his bedroom, Kol stanched of malice, like he usually did and Henrik tagged along, carelessly looking around and then sagged himself into the couch next to his big brother, who was concentrating on his drawing.

"Are my eyes deceiving me or is that a smile on Nik's face for no reason?" He continued niggling the older sibling who was clearly ignoring him as he collapsed himself onto Klaus' made up king sized bed. "Or perhaps there _is_ a reason but I can't seem to put my finger on it… What is it?" He tapped his finger on his lower lip, pretending to think while he hummed slightly earning a glare from the corner of Klaus' eyes. "Oh, that's right!" abruptly he bolted upright in the bed and chuckled. "It's Care-doll."

"He has gone mad," Klaus muttered silently enough for Henrik to have heard it and they both chortled under their breaths. Kol has always been the playful sibling who found hilarity in almost everything and he most certainly would find pleasure in irritating his siblings to the brink of insanity. "And Henrik, don't spend most of your time with this psychotic maniac of a brother." He said out loud.

"At least _this_ psychotic maniac doesn't stalk girls!" Kol exclaimed, taking a seat next to Henrik and stretching out his legs on the desk. He was referring to Klaus watching over Caroline earlier that evening from his room and obviously Kol being Kol must have noticed it. Klaus shook his head and chose to ignore him. "By the way, Nik," His spirited tone was overtaken by a much somber one as he continued speaking. "She questioned me about a whole lot of things today."

Klaus growled, annoyed and tossed the sketch book on the table along with the pencil, a look of irascibility swaying across his face.  
"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing," Kol gestured, with a smirk. "I didn't think it was right either."

He closed his eye and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if experiencing a sudden migraine, trying to adjust to the fact that her queries are indeed not over. He had assumed Caroline would give up shortly, if not that simply, but apparently she won't since she turned out to be bloody-minded and now she was interrogating his siblings in order to grasp it. She would still keep coming and won't stop until she finds it out. He did like that about her but it also drove him pretty insane. A part of him did want to tell her since she so eagerly wanted to know. And maybe he will. Just not today.

"Nik…" Henrik broke the silence, leaning forward on seat. Since the subject was about Caroline, he brought up what he had wanted to ask for a long time. "When all this is over… Is she going to leave?"

The words sank into his heart, filled him with melancholy scorching through his soul. He had been avoiding that thought for as long as he can as he knew what her answer would be. Of course, she will; she would _want_ to leave him, Klaus had no little qualm about that. And he has been deathly afraid of losing, her, what was not even his, as he was not sure what would happen to him in the aftermath of her absence. But if he knew one thing without a speck of doubt, it was that, when she does walk away, he would never get used to not having her around. He will not ever learn to live or love without her and no matter how much he would attempt to fill the void space, he would never be able to. He would feel empty.

Even then, if that was what she desired, he would leave it for her to resolve. He would give her the choice to decide for her own even when he didn't want to. He was not going to try and control her but he wished he had the courage to do it like he had done with many others. If it's what would make her happy, he wouldn't stand in the way. Because that is what he wanted her to be; happy, even if he couldn't be a part of it.

He let out a long sigh, shutting his eyes close as the two of them watched with nerviness, how uncomfortable he had grown. He raised up his chin and answered, his voice conveying how distraught he was, "If that's what she wants, I wouldn't stop her."

It did surprise both of them to an extent they had not been. If Klaus wanted something he usually took it, what anyone else felt about it didn't matter. Henrik and Kol were quite dismayed and discontented with his answer as they did not want Caroline to leave, not now, not ever. She had brought in a light with her so bright that made everything that surrounded her burn with ferocity, and it was as though she had dismissed the darkness that surrounded the Mikaelsons for so long. They loved her, and they enjoyed her company and God knows what it would be to lose the light and be left in the darkness, _again_. They needed her to not only show them how to love and laugh but so to teach them how to live life the way it was meant to be lived.

"You are going to let her go?" Henrik exclaimed, not trying to hide the fact that he was fuming.

"Yes, mate –"

"What," Kol interrupted, and he too shared the same tone as his little brother. He got up from his seat, and looked down at his brother, shaking his head as if trying to make sure he heard right. "Did you say? I know she's a stubborn one and difficult at times but can't you at least try to persuade her into staying with us? You can't let her go, just like that."

"Yes I can," was his answer and he didn't care to elaborate it.

"But, Nik," Kol protested. "Aren't you scared of that?"

 _I am, Kol, you have no idea._ But he remained silent, feeling their angry glares on him, as he sat there idly, like a child about to be punished by their parents for causing trouble.

"We don't want her to. And we know that you don't either." Henrik muttered. "Don't let her run away."

"Henrik…" Klaus looked into his little brother's eyes. He may not understand half of the things Klaus was feeling, or the pain striking him at the mere thought of her leaving, but he needed to know it would be for the best. "She is not a hostage."

"No, she's not," he said stubbornly. "She's the only one who managed to make a self-righteousnarcissist smile." _And you love her_ , he added silently. Klaus shot him a glance, mildly stunned by his words, as Henrik never spoke like that. It was usually Rebekah or Kol who would insult him in this manner.

"I can't control her, Henrik. If leaving is what she wants then… We let her leave…" Klaus said. "We cannot force someone to stay in our lives if it isn't what they want. "

"But you can try, can't you?" Kol bawled. "You can speak of your feelings to her and, who knows? Maybe she would want to stay with us. With _you_ , brother."

"Kol –"

"No!" Henrik yelled again. "If she's not worth fighting for then maybe you shouldn't have fallen in love with her in the first place." He continued in a much calmer voice, accusing Klaus as if it was his fault he had fallen for her. He wasn't exactly aware when or the place, only that it had happened, accidentally, in just a flashing moment. "Fight for her, Nik. Don't let her get away that easily. Show her that you need her until she trembles to make a choice between staying and leaving you. You want her to be with you, don't you?"

She is worth it. In fact, she is worth more than anything in this world. Maybe his littlest brother was right. Fighting for her doesn't mean he is trying to control her. It won't deny her the choices that she could make for herself. It simply means that he cared about it enough to let her know. It means that he loves her. He will always choose her, even if he's not even one of her choices. And he will forever love her, even if she never does. And he'll run after her, if she runs away from him. Because he couldn't imagine a day without her…

"I do..." he mumbled. "I do."

* * *

"Any progress?" he asked in his attractive voice and adjusted his coat. He made no eye contact with the man that stood before of him. He looked up at the full moon and then out over the lake at the boats moving slowly off.

"This evening a car left from their mansion –"

"A car?" he scoffed, mocking the other with a dour arrogance as he shifted his eyes to the man with short jet black hair, the light olive skin that brought out his dark eyes and his solid jaw line. "Is that all you got? And did you try to investigate further? Maybe send some of my guys to follow them? To see if she's there with them in this _car_?"

"You have to understand… They must have a lot of armed guards," he said in his thick accent. "And we won't stand a chance."

"I've waited more than enough and if you can't pull this off at least tell me so I can hire someone else to do this job for me."

"You know mate, they are the Mikaelsons –"

He slammed his fist hard on the wall and the other grew more tensed but looked at him blankly, hiding it. "Yeah, I know them and I know what they did to me! And if you want to know about _your_ family, Enzo" He stepped forward; gesturing with his hand and looking daggers into the man's eyes. "You have to get her."

His face dropped instantly. "Alright… But the Mikaelson sister always has one of her brothers by her side. Maybe we can isolate her –"

"No. Not her… " His mind slowly drifted away for a brief moment and he pulled himself together. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Keep an eye on them twenty four hours to find the other girl. If she ever gets out of their _castle_ , do whatever you have to do and just bring her to me!" He yelled.

"Why the new girl?"

"Because she looks important to Klaus."

"And after that what?"

"We both get what we want."

* * *

He looked so calm, so young with the peaceful expression on his face and the soft breathing made the world seem to stand still. He was lying on his back, with one arm at his side and the other on his bare chest, as the dim moonlight filled the room revealing his tattoo. Caroline couldn't help but admire how handsome he looked while sleeping. She tilted her head with a delicate simper looking down at him, pleased. _He really is hot.. How can someone so cruel, so annoying look like this? Shut up Caroline – wait but he can't hear you. He's sleeping. Like a baby._ She smiled to herself.

"How long have you been standing there, love?" His voice came out as a husky luscious whisper that made her body tingle. Her jaw dropped and she tensed up with discomfiture as he silently enjoyed it, with a smirk forming on his face. He opened his eyes lazily, his body remained still. "If you are determined to watch me all night, I might recommend coming a little closer." He patted the space next to him on the bed.

"I was – just – I –" she stammered trying to come up with excuse however none flooded into her neurotic control freak mind and she cursed herself for that. She just stood there, speechless until he reached out, took her arm and gently pulled her down over him and she found herself looking down at his handsome face. A shaky breath escaped her lips as she was so aware of everything, suddenly. His overwhelming looks. His blue eyes that resembled tunnels, his lusty lips only an inch away from her and his hand on her hip. _Damn it, those lips._ Her mind travelled back to the intense kiss they shared.  
His smirk reappeared as he caught her eyes on his lips and Caroline flinched, trying to get up. But instead he rolled her over, placing himself in between her legs and rose above her with his hands on either side of her head.

She gulped.

"Are you here to join your favourite sleeping partner? What, couldn't sleep without him?" He sneered, arrogantly.

"No, I came here to smother you with a pillow." She snapped, trying to sound annoyed at him. Her hands pressed against his chest in an effort to push him away, but it was there, doing nothing for longer than it should have been. She quickly looked away from his masculine chest, back into his eyes.

"Were you debating on which pillow to use then?" he asked, toying with her gold locks as he devoured her beauty.

"I'm not talking to you until you tell me the secret."

"The last time our conversation took that turn," he said in a mocking tone, arching an eyebrow at her. "It became rather... Heated now didn't it? If you perhaps want more of that, there's no need to be shy, love, get on with it like you did before."

"You're a jerk."

"A charming one."

"I'll figure it out."

"I know. You always _get_ what you want." He smirked torturing her with the memories of their kiss.

"Ugh! Why do you have to be such an asshole? An annoying piece of little...! Ugh!" She smacked hard on him with both her hands repeatedly, but instead of wincing in pain, it made him chuckle as if he was almost enjoying it. He smirked, seeing her grumping at him as she kept pounding her fists on his chest, letting out all the frustration that had boiled inside her about it, and it drew her even angrier as she found him amused at her. "Why…?" And she, herself, wasn't sure what her question really meant. Caroline let out an unstable pant as she relaxed on the bed, staring up at a smirking Klaus.

"Are you done yet?" He asked innocently, not smiling down at her anymore and yet she felt his mocking tone. She replied him with a death glare. He pinned both her hands above her head and looked deep into her eyes. "Well then… Let me give you some advice, if you want to inflict pain on me, first of all, you need to learn _how_ to punch right."

"I'm... hungry." She blinked.

His forehead scrunched up as he slowly let go of her hand and they both started sitting up. "Oh... What –"

Caroline quickly pulled her dress down up to her knee and sighed out loudly, her eyes darted up at the ceiling as she shook her head from side to side and Klaus sat opposite to her, listening. "I know, I know," she interrupted him. "You're probably gonna say _'You should have eaten when I brought dinner to your room, love.'"_ She rolled her eyes.

"That's ridiculous, sweetheart, I don't speak like that," He chuckled as she mocked his accent. "I was about to ask what you would prefer to have at this hour?"

And when he turned around to get off his bed Caroline saw something that shuddered her. Her breath caught in her throat, and chest began to burn as she looked at the moonlight bouncing on his back full of whip scars as he walked towards the closet. Lots of healed scars up and down his back. Abruptly, she stood up, barely listening to what he was saying and followed him. He turned around and cocked his head at her with a frown and Caroline grabbed his arm, swung him around and he let her until he realized what she was doing. He turned to her with an expression, pleading her to not to start with her endless questions. But of course, Caroline walked right behind him to get a better view of them. Klaus finally gave up as she held his arm firmly, since he knew fighting her with the council issue was enough struggle for him. And so he let her have her way as she was not one to give up. And he didn't know how to win a battle against her.

She didn't know what to think as her mind flooded with disturbing thoughts. _Is this what the council did to him? My parents? My Dad in particular? They hurt him in this brutal way and that was the reason why they were seeking revenge? But...? "_ Oh my god, how did you get these?" Her words were mixed with a gasp while she muttered them under her breath. She ran her fingers on them, barely touching them, as she waited for him to answer.

But he didn't.

"Klaus...? Wh... Hh... Tell me?" Her hand, still caressing the scars so lightly, as if she was afraid to hurt them.

"Caroline, weren't you hungry, love?" he faced her and he looked down at his feet in defeat after she shot her an angry glare, displeasure gleamed in her eyes. Then he looked at her unchanged expression. "My father used to beat me."

"What...?" She shook her head in disbelief. So it wasn't the council or _her_ Father but... How could one do that to their son? That was a question Klaus had asked himself for a very long time but was never answered. "Why?"

"Because," he looked at her, deadpan. "He hated me." He smiled, and his expression implied that he didn't care much. "Even before he found out I was not his son, and after that he loathed me even more."

"Did he do that to everyone else too?"

"No, just me."

He looked down at her and saw an empathy stare back at him through her eyes and he knew what she would ask next.  
"Do they hurt?"

Klaus simply shook his head and plastered a smile on his face. Truth was it did hurt. Just a tad. But it wasn't the scars that ached rather it was the memories of torture. The tears that fell from everyone's eyes as they watched him being whipped, and the begging screams of his siblings that echoed in his ears while his whole back felt like it was on fire. And the fact that he was despised by his father figure. Being disowned by him, the devil. Being the child that he didn't want.

And it will never heal or stop stinging.

"Now," he simpered. "Let's get you something to eat, shall we?"

* * *

"So what are we doing?" Hayley said in an almost strident tone, as she surged into Katherine's room, slamming the door behind her. Katherine was lying on the bed asleep and she whirred loudly, unmistakably annoyed by Hayley having woken her up. Katherine tossed the blanket over and got up, facing a very upset Hayley as she strolled on her feet towards her, arms crossed above her belly.

"Well, let's see…" She stood up with a sigh and straightened her tank top, before facing Hayley who came to a halt, right beside her. "I was playing dead but of course your nagging interrupted that. Now we are talking about it. And I am already bored." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Hayley shook her head, raising her arm at the other brunette, whose her hair was tossed up into a ponytail. Katherine was in her black tank top that flaunted her curves and the striped shorts that exposed her perfectly toned long legs that made her look like a model on Vogue magazine.

"That's not what I – Katherine…" She hesitated. "We have to leave. I've been here long enough and being surrounded by these people is… insane and you know that. But here you are sleeping like Aurora but guess what? Instead of a kiss, it will be a knife jamming into your carotid artery that will wake you up. For a while. And then you can play dead forever."

Katherine narrowed her eyes at her as she shifted from one leg to another, trying to come up with a grand comeback to shut her up. But she closed her mouth as realization struck her. Hayley was right they _have_ been here far too long and the owners of this huge mansion were dangerous to some extent. Although there was something about Caroline and them, she could quite not cognize; she knew Caroline too would want to get out of here, wouldn't she? The amendments didn't matter in this case.

She glanced back at the clock on the bedside table. 3:04 AM. Everyone must be asleep right now...

She puffed, grabbing the hoodie from the elegant gold white accent chair, slipped it in, and zipped it up to her neck as Hayley watched in puzzlement.

"Since the front gate has been ruled out as our escape hatch," She started towards the door as Hayley stood there with a dumbstruck look on her face, "We are gonna have to find another way out." She looked back and said. "You coming or not?"

Katherine, with an observant mind, was wandering the mansion, absorbing every inch like their other home as Hayley ambled right beside her. She had to come up with a real plan to get them out safely with her previous one blown up to ashes, as Hayley had mentioned. She had underestimated the Mikaelsons and she wasn't going to make the same mistake again. She couldn't warn anyone at home as she had no contact with them, thanks to Klaus holding her phone hostage except when she was literally forced to text Elena or Damon convincing all she needed was a little more while and nothing else.

She followed the large corridor and was surprised to see the amount of rooms they had built. _They_ _were filthily rich_ , she thought running a finger on the antique silver vase. The hall was rather large and lengthy, with paintings adorning the wall and Katherine just scoffed mockingly wondering why they had made such a huge deal about the space they owned. She peered all the way to the end of the hall as she explored, anticipating to perhaps find a back entrance to flee. Hayley followed her, continuously glancing back to see if anyone was following them as she was nervous of what would happen if they were caught while doing this, which gave her cold chills as coldness crept into her spine.  
They reached the end of the hallway, took a right and were surprisingly standing in front of a huge white door. They glanced at each other and Katherine slid the door open, and it was as heavy as it looked.  
Their eyes skimmed the huge room with a burning alarm. It was almost empty – except for two chairs placed in the middle, side by side, some wires aside it on the floor and a transformer kept on the small table a couple of inches away.

"I feel sick…" Hayley muttered looking at the perfect arrangement of the room which could only turn out to be a torture chamber.

"This is… Dark." Katherine roamed around, her eyes shifted from the chairs to the wires and then the table. There was a white keycard on it, thicker than most she's seen. She picked it up and toyed with it as she continued, "Who are these lunatics again?"

"The Mikaelsons." Hayley recalled what Kol had said the other day as she too glanced around.

Katherine turned around on her feet, headed for the other side inventorying her surroundings when something caught, her eyes triggering a mild hopefulness. A door. She stomped on her feet towards the door, swept the keycard into the lock and the light turned blue with a beeping sound. With great effort, Katherine shifted the pale door open as Hayley watched in awe. Without hesitation, she climbed inside, her platform boots making a scraping noise against the concrete inside. She walked less than a quarter of a block when everything felt different. Then she knew.  
She was outside the walls that had kept her captive for the past four days. She could see the clear night sky, the dead road and the woods from a distance. A wry smile appeared on her lips as she planned it all out.

"Katherine… What's going on?" Hayley muttered her name, timidly, not sure of what was happening.

She marched back towards Hayley, her smirk still intact.

"I think we just found our way out, Haywire."


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12  
** I can't imagine a world with you gone  
The joy and the chaos, the demons we're made of  
I'd be so lost if you left me alone  
 _\- Chord Overstreet_

* * *

He marinated the chicken cubes in salsa sauce with a touch of pesto before he rolled it in corn flour. It was way fancier than her usual messy nuggets with too much oil, but it looked delicious, without even being fried yet. She observed him as he worked his toned arms through the chopping, slathering and all. He had never looked more attractive, even in his night sweat clothes. Her stomach growled at the sight of the meat turning brown as it grizzled to a perfect melody. It was too overrated but she was way too hungry to be in her right mind.

* * *

Klaus opened the door to see Caroline in her crepe pajama shirt dress and shorts underneath them. She opened her mouth to say something but froze when she saw him. Her gaze travelled from his smoldering blue eyes to his lips and back to his eyes. She had regretted it the second she knocked on his bedroom and wished she had just stayed in hers instead. Or gone to Katherine's. But she was here. Caroline wondered whether he was perhaps right, that maybe she needed him to be her sleeping companion and almost laughed out loud as it sounded somewhat absurd in her head and yet, here she was proving him somewhat right.

He politely smiled at her, and opened the door wider for her to enter and she hesitantly looked at him for a moment and realized there was nothing else she could do and so walked in.

He shut the door behind her as she slipped into his room, taking tiny steps further in, looking around and reviewing all its elegance.

When he gestured to the bed, Caroline smiled and climbed up; sitting at the edge of it and Klaus seated himself next to her, his eyes fixated on her.

"Is everything alright?" He smiled and tucked a loose stray of hair behind her ears, his fingers lingering there as he stared into her eyes, drawn like never before. For the first time in forever he wanted something although the "what" remains obscure to his frustration. But he wanted it so badly. And he will not let her slip away, at least not without a fight.

"Yeah... I was just..." She muttered. "Couldn't sleep." A sly grin graced his lips and Caroline looked at him through narrowed eyes, irritated. "Shut up, you jerk." She gave him a playful shove returning his smile. She was growing tired and Klaus could see how drowsy she felt as she shifted her gaze back from him to the floor.

"I didn't say anything, love." He chuckled, climbing up to the bed and held out his hand. "You look tired. Come here." Caroline raised her eyebrows as a question, with a smirk and joked. "I'll tell you a bedtime story."

She shook her head lightly and then took his hand with a smile.

* * *

This day had begun splendidly for Klaus. Elijah and Rebekah would be back today. He checked his phone, as soon as his eyes opened and was glad to be informed about them being on their way to New Orleans, with the captives, after three whole days. Everything had gone smoothly according to their sagacious plan. He expected them at sundown.

He also had thought about a plan to get his brother out of jail and all he needed was the consent of his siblings and well, Bill Forbes' support. That was a matter to be discussed with his family, after he attended their new visitors.

Klaus got out of the shower, his strong torso was covered in water droplets and nothing but a towel hung low on his waist. He pulled another towel from his dressing room and walked into his bedroom, ruffling his hair dry with it, when the door slammed open, and there she was, angry and resentful for some reason Klaus couldn't apprehend. He turned around from the mirror and looked at her, utterly demented with worry.

"Seriously!?" She yelled, inching towards Klaus and for a second or maybe two, her breath caught up in her throat as her eyes landed on him, and she almost forgot why she had been so mad. Her face smoothed and her lips were parted. She stared at his broad chest, the muscles enclosing his shoulders, the tattoo on his left arm and the lines etching in his torso and still lower at the towel hanging on his hips.

"What's wrong, love?" He straddled closer, bit by bit and asked, innocently but Caroline caught the glimpse of enjoyment in his eyes, as he knew he had captured her attention.

She let out a breath, harshly and tried to concentrate on the reason why she was here. She crossed her arms above her chest and looked at him with angry eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

"Beg your pardon?" He looked at her with swirling confusion.

"Oh, no, no, no," she went on. "I will not pardon you!" She yelled even louder this time. He looked back at her, speechless and moved closer, seized her elbow in a gentle swift, giving her a look that asked her to calm down. And then her soft arms smacked across his bare chest, lightly, at least ten times, before Klaus grabbed her wrists and pulled it down and snaked his hands around her waist, shoving her closer towards him. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she slammed against his chest. His gaze travelled along her face, over the delicate lips, down her chin to the swelling of her chest under her half buttoned cantaloupe summer dress, teasing her cleavage and it was literal torture to prevent his mind from drifting into certain thoughts..

She pushed away, but alas, he had her entirely wrapped in his hands and no matter what she did, she knew she couldn't escape.

"Caroline," when she stopped her attempts to free herself, he said in a low voice. "It's funny, I do recall you referring to me as a criminal during our first encounter and yet, you act more like one, given that you have punched me, how many times now...?" He asked, pretending to think. "Oh, that's right. I've lost count. Not that I'm complaining, love, it _feels so_ –"

"Shut up!" Caroline's voice rose to a scream. "Ugh! What's your problem!?"

"Shouldn't we ask you that?" He arched an eyebrow, smirking.

"You sent Elijah and Rebekah to track those three men! And you didn't even tell me!"

He backed off immediately, after hearing her words that left him baffled and astounded. How had she found that out? He tossed the towel aside over the arm chair and took a step forward. "Now, who told you that?" He asked, his curiosity genuine.

Caroline bit her lip. She should have known better than to rage on Klaus as soon as she found that out from Katherine who had overheard Kol and Henrik's conversation about Ambrose and Noah, and Caroline knew something was bothering Katherine. And so Caroline had made her confess.

"Kol." He said, in a deep angry voice, eyeing past Caroline towards the door.

"No –"

"Uh, no." Kol entered the room with an anxious look on his face, clearly worried and upset about Caroline's sudden outburst that resulted in a mild violence. He looked from Caroline to Klaus, awkwardly and she could tell he was bewildered and not happy. "Wasn't me, Nik."

"He didn't tell me... I just figured it out... And why didn't _you_ tell me?" She asked him, totally calmed, thanks to Kol's intrusion.

"I knew you wouldn't let me –"

"Exactly, Klaus!" She shrieked and then realized she shouldn't have, not in front of his little brother. "I mean..."

"Kol, give us a minute." Klaus said, as he clenched his chin.

"But..." Kol hesitated.

"Leave." His tone implied that he wasn't asking and it was more of an order. So he listened.

As soon as the door closed behind Kol's back, Caroline hissed. "Why are you doing this!?"

"Because," he carelessly turned around, picked up the towel and began ruffling his hair dry again. He walked back into the dressing room. "They hurt you."

"Me. Not you, _me_!" She gestured, following him. "And were you even going to tell me?!"

When she had reached there, Klaus was already wearing his pants and his shirt was over his shoulder as he walked past her, into the bedroom, leaving Caroline to follow him back.

"No." he said nonchalantly.

"Terrific!" She scoffed, satirically, throwing her hands in the air. "And what evil are you planning to do with them?"

He turned around with an amused grin on his face and took a deep breath.

"Nothing they don't deserve."

There was no need to investigate more on that as Caroline knew he wouldn't elaborate further and so she decided not to waster her breath on that. She rubbed her forehead, puffed the air out of her lungs and began, "Look, Klaus," she moved towards him, trying to not look anywhere other than his eyes, as he buttoned up his black shirt. He watched her, absorbedly. "I… Uh… You don't have to do this."

"Why not?"

"It hurts me, yes, but not as much as it did before. I'm okay now... I can't let that bother me forever… I moved on. That's what we do, we move on from the bad parts of our lives, because it's easier to live and I just… wanna live…"

Klaus stared at her, listening to every word that came out of her mouth speculating whether she was being insincere or just being imprudent. Because they are still walking on this Earth, freely, as if they haven't emotionally destroyed someone. But on some level, he knew she had a point. She just wanted to live. And there was nothing wrong with that.

"But I need to do this."

"Why!?"

"Because they don't deserve to move on after what they did to you."

"God, Klaus, why does that matter to you?"

"Because –" he closed his mouth when he realized what had almost slipped out of his mouth. He froze staring fixedly at her who waited for him to continue. But somewhere, deep in her heart, she already knew the rest of it. "I want to make sure the world cannot touch you." He continued, moving towards her. "Not anymore. I won't let it."

The motion of his eyes closing and opening was entrancing enough, his stare met hers and for an infinite moment they were one. And in a frighteningly diaphanous moment, it was genuine concern that she saw in his eyes.

"So, let me do this… For you."

 _For me..._ "But I don't need revenge –"

"Caroline," he begged. "Please."

* * *

"Ugh!" Rebekah wailed, looking out the window of her car seat, admiring the mesmerizing view of the swirling greens. "Why can't we do this more often? Elijah, we're always stuck inside a house doing nothing!"

Elijah smiled to himself, listening to his little sister's complaint. It was true; she was always stuck in their Mansion-house ever since she came back to New Orleans. Sure they have travelled around the world, visited almost all the countries but they were merely for leisure. It was strictly business. Maybe one day, in a year, they will live life like normal people. One day, when they are reunited with Finn, perhaps.

Rebekah closed the window shut and adjusted in her seat, next to her big brother. She complained for about another good fifteen minutes before their conversation took another turn – towards the more daintiness.

"So what's with you and the knocked up girl?" Rebekah dug through her travel bag and pulled out a packet of junk food. She tore it open and began rambling. "You two seem awfully close."

Elijah shifted in his seat, nervously and eyed Rebekah, pretending to look dull and confused. What was he supposed to say? Sure they had a few conversations – maybe a lot more than few due to which he had gotten to know her. She had told her about her history and he his, leaving out the intimidate parts, of course. She was a beautiful soul, and had goodness in her heart who was desperate to have her family. And maybe, just maybe, he was slowly letting her in, unknowingly letting her trespass in a dangerous territory, a place he wanted to block after Tatia. Though he was physically involved with some, he had never had the courage to care about someone with affection as he did Hayley, after Tatia. And he knew, for a fact that Hayley too felt likewise...

"She has a name, Rebekah. It's Hayley," he sternly added, shaking her head when Rebekah offered her packet of junk food. She rolled her eyes and enjoyed it, listening to his brother's lies. "There's nothing strange about our conversations, I can assure you sister, we are two people just talking."

She scoffed, opening up a can of beer and taking a sip from it. Then she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt. Elijah tossed a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over to her. "Perhaps, talking is a fancy word for eye sex?"

She looked at him teasingly.

He narrowed his eyes and muttered under his breath, "You sound like Niklaus." His lips quirked up into a smirk at the thought of that. Rebekah was like Klaus in all the possible ways he could imagine and despite being alike, they were the two people who often ended up arguing. They would disagree, fight, then throw temper tantrums at one another, and Rebekah would end up flinging any object she could reach at him and later Klaus would break all that's in their house. After their temper subsides, they would feel awfully sorry for what they might have said and though they never apologized, deeply they understood how sorry the other is. And so they forgive, forget move on fight again and repeat.

"Speaking of that ungrateful tyrant," she continued, licking the salt off her fingers. She crippled the packet in her palms and stuffed it into the small bin, "He spent most of his life mocking me about falling in love... And look where he is now."

"Yes," he murmured. "I'm not complaining, however I do wonder sometimes... Why her?"

Rebekah shook her head, lost in thoughts. "She... has something in her that draws him in." She muttered. "It's not just her looks but... It's something that's hard to explain. And it's as if it's only in her for him." She scoffed. "Why else would the big bad wolf for the little red?"

Elijah derided along with his little sister.

"Perhaps he was never the big bad wolf in their story."  
 _Maybe he was just a wolf…_ He added to himself.

"How many more hours?" Rebekah asked, changing the subject.

"We'll be there by sundown."

* * *

"Hey, there you are!" Katherine squeaked running towards the blonde who was about to walk down the stairs. She grabbed her hand, dragging her back to Caroline's room and shut the door close.

Caroline frowned at her friend, suspiciously as she opened the door to poke her head out, and looked either side to make sure no one was in the hall and then shut the door close, again. She turned around and let out a long sigh. A nervous one.

"I've been meaning to tell you this, since the last two days," She gestured, anxiously. "But clearly, I never got the chance to. Because there was a very handsome British man always following you around like a lost puppy and I don't know why you're not so annoyed by that."

"Katherine P. Gilbert," Caroline smiled, and threw her hands in the air. "Get to the point."

"Right. I found a way out of here. And we're leaving," she smirked. "Tonight."

" _What!?_ " she blurted out in disbelief. "Wh – Katherine? Tonight? Are you crazy?"

"What?" Katherine wailed. "Yes, tonight and no, I'm not crazy. It's a perfect plan. We leave before the suit man and the Barbie Klaus comes back."

"So we just leave? What if we get caught?"

"We won't."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'll be careful. We'll all be."

"But –"

"Caroline? Do you not want to go?"

"I do," she protested. "I do… But it's just that… Don't you wanna stick around and learn more about the whole 2000 crusade? I mean, apparently, there is this dark secret relating to the council, which means my parents and yours as well."

Katherine held the rumbling blonde's shoulder and gave her a stern look, her eyes filled with appeal.  
"Look," sulked. "It doesn't matter. You'll be home, safe and none of this will matter. And who cares about some dusty old secret? They say it's for revenge but… I'm sure they're the villains."

Caroline wasn't so sure about that… Not after what she had learnt from Klaus, two nights ago, as she rested against his chest, his arms wrapped around her tightly, stroking her hair and as his scent intoxicating her mind. He had told her about his father, being imprisoned in North Carolina for the murder of his mother. But according to Klaus, even though Mikael was devil, he had never laid a finger of Esther. He loved her, and forgave all her indiscretions with another man that had resulted in him. Instead, he took all his anger on Klaus. He maybe the devil, he would never even dream of hurting Esther.

The story of Finn did come up when Caroline asked about his siblings. He was framed for killing his colleague, and he believed with all his heart that his older brother was framed and he would do whatever it takes to get him back. When Caroline tried to enquire more, he had made a joke about this not being his idea of a bed time story, and he soon changed the subject.

And for some reason, she couldn't stop relating those incidents to the Council. She didn't know what to think, she didn't know what conclusions to draw from all those stories and that was one of the reasons why she didn't want to leave. And maybe, there are others…

"Do you wanna stay or something Caroline?" Katherine looked at her with her almond shaped eyes.

"No," she quickly answers, not believing herself as she said so.

"Good," Katherine sighed. "Then we leave, at sundown."

* * *

There were too much to think right now, for instance Klaus' plan to do God knows what to her rapists, but at some point, she could not care less about what happened to them – part of her wished for them to be punished and yet she did not want Klaus to get into any sort of trouble because of that.

And now, Katherine had found their way out. How was she supposed to make a decision when she was not sure why this was even a choice? Why is this even a problem right now? Shouldn't she be delighted to have found a way out, to be able to escape from her – kidnapper...? She shouldn't even be debating on whether or not to leave.

Maybe it was the fear of getting caught by the great Mikaelsons, holding her back. If they get caught, what would even happen? She knew, for a certain fact that Klaus would never hurt her and it's not because he had said so, but because she just... somehow knew.

Perhaps, she wanted to search for the truth about a specific incident that she had no idea about and was clearly not so important to her.

Or maybe these were just lies...

But one truth that's not clouded by any other perplexed desire is that, she did want to go home, to her Mom as she had pictured what it would be like to feel her warmth again as they hug after what has seemed like an eternity.

But she also wanted something else and she was not ready for that.

"You ready?" a feminine voice rippled in, crashing her castle in the air, and she gasped, turning around to face a 5'6 tall brunette with perfect caramel hair.

"What?" Katherine asked, looking suspiciously at her with a baffled frown. "It's time, Barbie."

As quietly as it allowed them, they straddled into the hall way, whilst the brothers waited for their siblings to return, at the gateway. It wasn't a brilliant plan, but a plan nonetheless.

They pulled open the white door, behind which literally had their freedom and Caroline's heart sank at the thought of never having to see Klaus again. She hesitated, to move forward, not okay with it. She realized this was a crazy idea and she should just go back to her room. And then a shooting pain of guilt imploded inside her. How selfish was she? Katherine had come back from Paris, practically leaving her entire life behind because she heard about her abduction. She agreed to help save Caroline, not knowing what she was getting herself into and risked exposure whilst searching for a safe way out. Moreover, Klaus was supposed to be the bad guy. He had threatened Stefan and Elena, terrified her Mother ordering her to search for Bill whose whereabouts were unascertained. How could she just ignore all that because of her feelings for Klaus? She shouldn't and she mustn't.

She hesitated before she followed after Hayley and Katherine, exploring the room with her eyes.

"Carebear," Katherine stated. "This, I believe, is their torture chamber." She knew the brunette was right.

And she felt sick.

* * *

Elijah strolled in, his little sister by his side with triumphant grins plastered on their lips, making their way to their brothers who were nothing but glad to be reunited after what seemed like a millennium apart. They exchanged hugs and a cracked few jokes before the insentient bodies appeared along with their men.  
The grin on his face only lightened by this as he muttered to his older brother, "Let's get to our torture chamber, shall we?"

* * *

Inside the Mikaelsons 'Torture chamber', Katherine slid the door open and flung out, holding Caroline's hand as Hayley followed a little behind them with identical rhythm of footsteps. They slid away into freedom, towards the dim woods which will hopefully take them far away from their captives, into an exposed road from there they'll most probably steal a parked car, hot wire it and be on their way to Mystic Falls.

They were finally free, and ecstatic about it. However, Caroline felt quite uncanny, and all she could think about was Klaus. It was definitely not the fear of getting caught that had held her back. It was simply him. But the hopes of seeing everyone kept her going along with Katherine.

They ran and ran further into the woods, towards the road, barely visible to their eyes through the silhouettes of large trees, their legs feeling rubbery and their heels worn out. They were finally free.

They continued at their pace, until they heard two other synced footsteps.

They turned around... No one was there. They started towards again but a shadow formed before them. He was following them for the past hours and he knew who they were. He bolted around the woods and awaited as they approached him unknowingly. His dark long coat swayed behind him as he approached them from front. His eyes were set on the two at the front, the blonde and the brunette. A pregnant brunette trailed behind them.

He signed his companion and then they attacked.

 _Damn, the Mikaelsons_. That was the last thing Caroline thought, before the sharp stink of chlorine exploded through her mind.

* * *

The guards dragged in two sedated men inside and Kol, Elijah helped cuff them to their chair whilst Klaus carried on with the wires, rounding them against their legs and connected to the transformer above the table.

Kol paced forth and back, having a thousand questions about the matter, although he was unaware, what to ask first. Then his eyes landed on the white key card, tossed at the floor, two inches away from the backdoor of their house.

What the hell? He picked up, holding it out in his hands for his brothers.

They frowned.

"Nik," Rebekah poked her head, outside, her face covered in glee. "Where's your little Blonde friend? She's not in her room, nor is she in the moonstone stealers. I wanna say hi."

Klaus' heart sank and all his thoughts came to a halt as he tried to apprehend what this could possibly mean.

 _No,_ he tried to convince himself otherwise. _She could also be in the garden._

Besides, Caroline was not even aware of this room, how could she...? Even if she did know this place, she wouldn't... Would she?

 _She won't run, she won't leave, not like that,_ his mind carried out the mantra as he dreadfully watched Kol swipe the card through the key and drag open the door and climbed inside. Then he walked outside to see Katherine from a distance, running towards him, her curls bouncing in the air, against her shoulders. She stopped a few feet away, as the familiar figure of Kol became apparent. The man behind her grabbed her arm forcefully and tried to swing her around, but she quick as a flash punched him in his abdomen using her elbow. The man grunted in pain and Katherine turned around and threw her arm forward as hard as she could, whipping it across his face. Just as he was about to attack her again, Kol bolted behind him and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Now," he talked. "That's no way to treat a lady, especially one that pretty."

A second later the man's eyes were closed and he sunk to the ground, unconscious.

Katherine stood there, blinking down at the man, completely at shock of what had happened. Then Kol roughly grasped her hand and carried her away as she glanced back at the body lying on the ground.

"Brothers!" Kol exclaimed with a fake grin, holding Katherine in one arm as everyone else stared at her in complete stagger. "Look what we have here."

"What is this, Katerina?" Elijah moved forward, and asked in him calmed tone. Everyone else watched the whole scene in silence, not sure what was relevant to utter at the moment. "How...?"

"What have you done!?" Klaus asked, reading what was written all over her face. She remained mum. Klaus shoved his big brother aside, giving Katherine the glare of death. "Where is she!?" He grabbed her arms, his nails digging into her flesh. She shut her eyes close.

 _The British man carried Caroline's unconscious body towards the car as the other held Katherine in position. They hadn't used the same trick as they did to the others on her. She looked down at Hayley, with desolation who was lying on the floor, her clothes covered in dirt. From the way they talked and moved, she knew they weren't the Mikaelsons. And there was only one who could help her save her friends. The Mikaelsons themselves. And so she patiently waited for the right moment, quietly observing everything._

 _The man came and picked Hayley up carefully, carrying her bridal style towards the car.  
Then Katherine made her move. She teared out a piece of branch from the tree next to them and plunged it into his arm. He screamed in pain and kneeled down, as he maneuvered to get it out. Then Katherine ran, and never looked back._

"I don't know who they were... Or why..." Katherine explained further. "They just took Care and Hayley... I... I don't know where to... I... They looked dangerous - but! Not as much as all of you which is why you have to find them."

 _They looked dangerous. They took Caroline. They took her. She was gone._

He was filled with a fear such as he had never known.

* * *

Where could she be? Who could he point a finger at when they had so many enemies lurking around? He should never have involved her in this. He should have never taken her outside the house where all his rivals could have marked her as a target, to seek revenge for the unjust that they have caused. He should have been more careful. She didn't deserve this. If anything happens to her... how would I live?

His feelings were all over the place, storming into the living room, Elijah by his side and the rest followed them after, careful enough to not prompt up a question to evoke his boiling up temper. Their eldest brother too was anxious, about both Caroline and needless to say, Hayley and right now no one was sure of what to do next as they were clueless of their location – not to mention who took them.

Klaus growled out loudly and threw the glass coffee chair with one hand, towards the table near the wall, crashing it onto the floor, knocking the vase along with it. Then he turned around and screamed, raging towards Katherine. Rebekah acted quickly and took a protective step forward to shield Katherine, as she knew what to expect from her big brother.

She met his glare for a long time, which demanded her to move aside. "Nik, I know she is at fault but she loves her too. They've known each other their whole lives. She would not wish any harm on Caroline," Rebekah tried. "Katherine would not put her in danger –"

"But she has!"

"She did not mean to. You need to –"

"What I need to do is rip out her heart and go find Caroline."

"Nik!" Her screamed echoed through the walls, bringing him to halt. "Katherine didn't just hand them over to unknown petulant goons. Set your priorities right for God's sake! You need to remain calm and focus on finding Caroline and the bumsie. And we need to figure out how to."

Elijah came from behind and just as Klaus was about to shove Rebekah to attack Katherine, and turned him around. Rebekah pushed Katherine away.

"Rebekah's right," he insisted, glancing at Caroline. "We don't have time for leisure activities. The girls, they are in unforeseen danger. We best hurry."

"Sir –" a guard called out from the door and their heads turned to face Thierry. "A man delivered a message for Ms. Rebekah Mikaelson. He said his name was Lorenzo."

Rebekah shook her head, claiming that it does not ring any bells.

"He gave this..." he showed a white piece with a handwritten message in thick block letters.

 **Come find me, Bekah. ;)  
** **\- MG**

Rebekah took a step back. Then another and then another. Her face flushed with dread as recognition dawned on her face.

She whispered under her breath. "Marcel..."


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

I used to recognize myself,  
It's funny how reflections change  
When we're becoming something else  
\- James Bay -

Klaus kicked the door opened, and the rest of his siblings followed him. There he was, Marcel Gerard, the orphan boy Mikael and Esther took in. The boy they grew up with. The boy that shared so many moments with Rebekah and promised to marry her. How did all of it go so wrong? They were family. And now here he stood before them, as their enemy.

Marcel had truly loved Rebekah. But he loved something more. Wealth. And so at first, he had used Rebekah into getting them to sell a share to him, in their company, but during that time, he actually fell in love with Rebekah. He wanted to confess but something always got in the way.  
It was Kol, who heard Marcel's conversation with his chums. And that was the last they ever saw him.

"Marcellus!" Klaus said, rather calmly. "Good evening. I'd like a word."

"We've come here for the girsl," Elijah joined. "Give them to us, or we kill everyone here." He looked at Enzo and Sofia standing at the corner, with several others, scattered, each had a weapon in possession, in what used to be a living room. "Starting with you two." He meant Sofia and Lorenzo. Then they all crowded the Mikaelsons.

Marcel laughed. "You all got a lot of nerve, after the hell you put me through, coming here and making demands."

"You deserved it, Marcellus." Kol snapped.

"The girls!" Elijah yelled. Klaus stepped forward, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder, joining in. "We will not ask again."

"Which one are you talking about anyway?" He joked. "The blond?" He looked at Klaus, as if he knew something. "Or the brunette." He then shifted his gaze at Elijah.

"Both." Kol moved closer to them. "Where are they?"

"Who are they, anyway?" Marcel grinned.

"Old friends," Klaus smirked.

Rebekah sighed. "You're all amateurs." She quickly grabbed the rod the tall man had, spun it around and hit him in the knee. When he cried out in pain and kneeled down, she hit him on his back, knocking him unconscious. Everyone gaped and looked at her in awe. She ignored Marcel's pleased look and headed upstairs, when she was blocked by another built man.

"Do you wish to die as well?" She asked, completely calm.

"Let her go, Aiden." Marcel ordered, and watched Rebekah run upstairs.

* * *

"Hey…" Hayley muttered looking down at her boots. She closed her eyes and looked at Caroline who was busily banging the windows with a foot-long log that she took from the pile of them.

"HEY!" She yelled. Of course, Caroline heard Hayley the last seventeen times she had tried to talk to her. But she couldn't look at Hayley. She just couldn't. When she first woke up, it struck her that Klaus would never dump her unconscious body into the horrid what looked like an abandoned asylum that had a foul smell. And she knew one thing: She had to get herself out of here.

Caroline once again ignored Hayley after a small pause and banged harder without a rhythm and with a final blow, the wooden window broke open. A smile crooked in her face and she muttered.  
"Come on, let's go."

"I… I can't…" Hayley murmured with a low moan. Caroline pursed her lips and turned around to face Hayley. Even through the dim light, she appeared pale as a ghost and she was sweating. Then her eyes trailed down to Hayley's shoes. Her water had broken. Caroline's eyes widened.

"Yeah." Hayley said nonchalantly.

* * *

"Caroline!" Rebekah kicked open door after door trying to find Caroline as the conversation between Marcel and her brothers continued.

"If she as much as gets a paper cut, Marcel," She heard Klaus say, "I give you my word, you'll face excruciating pain at the hands of me."  
Marcel chuckled. "Caroline _Forbes_ " He emphasized on her last name. "I've heard about her, from some of my guys here, in New Orleans. The beautiful blond angel in the scarlet tight dress that was able to bring a genuine smile to the devil's face. Or I guess it's how enticing she could look while dancing on table tops and how delicious she looked while drunk. I have to admit, she is very sultry even in that white dress I caught her –" Marcel was silenced with a blow to his nose. Marcel only laughed looking down at the blood. Marcel threw his forearms in an attempt to punch Klaus back, but Klaus slipped to the side, pushed Marcel 's elbow down and away, caught his head, and rolled him onto the floor. Third of a second, Klaus was on his feet. Marcel absorbed the trauma, swallowing the pain, then kicked his way slowly back to the surface, laughing. "Wow," he said in breaths between his laugh, "You got a thing for her? Oh! I wasn't sure. I just thought you were using her but… That's hilarious!"

"I will end you!" Klaus raged towards Marcel but was stopped by Elijah who blocked his way.

"We are here for the girl, not to kill one another."

"Get out of my way Elijah,"

"Caroline," he murmured, "She is why we are here."

He glared at Marcel and clenched his jaw in anger.

"Where is she? Is she even here?" He chuckled. "And why did you take her? Don't tell me this is your idea of revenge because you were forced to leave? Because I took everything from you?"

Marcel remained silent with a straight face while Klaus laughed it off.

"As pathetic as that is," Klaus said. "It is to no avail as I've won, I've won in the past, I won today, and I will always win."

"Your feelings for this girl," Marcel began.

"Don't be ridiculous, Marcellus," He sneered.

"As unreal as it sounds, you do have feelings. And you know I loved your sister,"

"Please, Marcel, spare me your—"

"I did, Klaus!" He yelled, stepping forward. "I did love Rebekah! And you know it! You," he looked and Elijah, "You and your obnoxious brother Kol knew it too!"

"Oh, I see that's why you used her to hold a share," Klaus snapped.

"I was coming to tell the truth to Rebekah, I was gonna apologize to her and everything was –"

"How delusional are you?" Elijah asked. "You think you'll apologize and Rebekah will go running into your open arms? Come on Marcel."

"You used my sister as a way into getting more wealth. You didn't love her, you don't use the people that you love for the benefits!"

"Ohh, then what about her?" Marcel asked. "What about Caroline? I know her Father is William Forbes. I know about Finn, I know all about your past. And I know why you're holding her as a hostage."

"That is none of your business," Klaus replied. "What I do is absolutely none of your bloody concern."

Kol walked downstairs yelling, "I couldn't find her! She isn't –"

"Klaus!" Rebekah yelled from upstairs, holding Hayley from a side as she walked, "Elijah! She is in labor!"

"Kol," Elijah said calmly, "Start the car,"

Kol simply obeyed, and hopped towards the door.

Klaus' eyes searched for her, and she appeared from behind Rebekah and he closed his eyes and briefly bowed his head to hide his relief when all he wanted to do was hug her, for a very, very long time.

"Hey…" her voice was barely above a whisper.

He felt Marcel's glare, as sharp as razors, cutting into him, waiting for any emotion to surface on his face. He could not let that happen. Marcellus could try again to hurt her. And not just Marcel. All of his enemies, which were countless, from all over the world will do the same. And He had too many enemies to hold something as delicate as her. He felt too much for her to put her in any danger and she was so much more than collateral.

And then it struck him, that it was he who was of any danger to her. Before he walked into her life, she was safe. His plot against her family is what put her in menace in the first place. He is what was wrong with her. He had to take himself out of the equation.  
He had to let her go.

Rebekah cleared her throat. "Nik, I need to speak with Marcel."

Klaus looked at her for a second in utter disbelief before chuckling. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm gonna leave you alone with the man that just tried to kill two of our hostages."

 _Hostages._ The word sank in to her. She looked at Klaus and blinked several times. In a split second she felt tired more than ever. Like the world had drained her for everything that she had. Like all the other men in her life, she was once again forced to feel worthless. For others, she was just another girl, a rebound, a girl to push around and use, and for him, she was just a hostage. Like how she predicted. She had urged herself into not developing any feelings for him, or to get her hopes up, but like the fool she was, she thought, she could have something more than she ever had, something she felt she deserved.

Rebekah shook her head in confusion, as she wasn't ready to deal with her brother in anyway. "I'm not a baby Klaus! I can take care of myself. I just need a minute with him and then I'll go to the hospital to see how Hayley is doing." She breathed out loudly. "I just need a minute. I promise, I'll be fine. Just trust me once that I can take care of myself."

"I wouldn't hurt –"

"Talk when you are talked to you imbecile!" Rebekah snapped at Marcel.

Klaus was still contemplating, and though he was not entirely sure, he agreed. "I'll send Kelab with a car right away," Then he turned to Marcel and said in a disturbingly calm tone, "If you touch her, I'll tear you from limb to limb."

He then mercilessly grabbed Caroline's arm, which caught her by surprise, and practically dragged her out of the mansion.

"He's a bad actor," Marcel mocked. "And that is gonna get him into trouble tonight."  
She slapped him. Hard.

"Come after my family again," she looked him in the eye, as she stepped forward and forward, "I will rip you apart, is that clear?"

* * *

They didn't utter even a single word throughout the one hour ride. Klaus had nothing to say. Nothing at all. When the car stopped right in front of the house, she got out of the car and headed towards the mansion.

As soon as Katherine saw Caroline, she ran and hugged her tight and let out a breath in relief. "Oh! My god, Care!" She then let go. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry care, I didn't –"

"It wasn't your fault, Katherine," She forced a smile. "And I'm okay."

It was then, she noticed, Hayley was missing. "Where's she?"

"She – uh, she's…" She trailed off. "In the hospital."

Her felt sick in her stomach. All kinds of thoughts rushed in her mind _. Something happened to her. Or the baby. And it's my fault. I dragged her into all this!_

"She got into labor, she's fine though," Caroline rubbed her temples. "I… Uh… I'm tired, Kat…" _Exhausted,_ she corrected herself, _life has exhausted me to the point where I don't even want to put up a fight anymore_. But aloud she said, "I need to lay down."

"Okay." Katherine nodded and let her go into her room. Then minutes later, watched Klaus do follow her.

"So tonight," she barely heard him, while looking out at the garden view from the window. "Was… Venturesome."  
He stopped behind her, closely, lingered and inhaled her scent. She closed her eyes as she felt his presence, so close to her then he buried his head in her shoulders. His fingertips softly brushed her skin, sending a wave of bliss shivering through her as it traced up her arm.

How could this feel so good? She asked herself urging to escape his touch. Why am I so easily manipulated by men?

"I wanna go home Klaus!"

She blurted out, looking at him and Klaus saw the lingering pain in those blue eyes. He has caused her nothing but pain when she didn't deserve it. It was ironic, as he thought to himself, he was going to protect her at all cost, when all he did was take her out of a safe haven and put her in harms way. It was his doing. Even when he wanted to protect her, he ended up hurting her.

A part of him always knew, that he couldn't protect her from all threats, when what she needed was to be protected from him. He was what's dangerous to her. Despite what her father put them through, she didn't deserve this.

"I only said that and... did that," he looked at her arm, "because I didn't want Marcel to know of my true feelings for you."

Caroline remained silent.

"I never thought me as someone capable of feeling such, towards anyone, but here I am, standing in front of my worst enemy's daughter, feeling like my world is about to crumble, at the mere thought of the simplest harm coming your way, and not because I wanted to use you as leverage, but simply because I... When Katerina told me you were abducted, I felt as though I was gonna lose my mind. Partly because if something had happened to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself as I'd be blamed for the demons that come to haunt you as I'd once destroyed their loved ones. I feel so vulnerable, Caroline... I wish if I were someone better and I could be, but I cannot change who I was in my past, and I cannot destroy the hatred that fuels within all my enemies who will use you to get to me and tonight just proves that, I'm not capable of protecting you. We, the Mikaelsons never had a weakness, but mine is you." He paused and looked at her hardened expression and his heart broke for the first time when realization hit him that, she had not believed a word he just said.

"Very well," he chuckled. "Perhaps it's better if you don't trust me. It'll be easier, for the both of us." He smiled, not his evil smirk, but a genuine smile that somehow surfaced the sadness he was trying to conceal. "You and Katerina will go back to Mystic Falls tomorrow."

The words hit her by surprise. She did not know what to think.

"Rest well, then." And he was gone, leaving her confused.

* * *

Morning came all too soon to her. She didn't get much sleep last night. She wanted to go home, this time she had no doubt. She was ready, when Kol walked in with a puzzled look on his face.

"What's this I'm hearing about you going back to Mystic Falls?" He asked. "Nik had the plane ready and asked me to fly you and Katerina back to Mystic Falls."

"Yeah..." she trailed off. "Where is he?"

He shrugged. "He left a message on my phone. Don't know his whereabouts, unfortunately." He moved closer. "Is everything alright with him?"

"What do you mean?"

"It isn't like him," Kol raised his shoulders. "You know, to give up on anything. Especially our leverage — no offense Care-doll, but, we are talking about our brother here."

"None taken," she smiles, brushing off the urge to ask once again what the big secret was. Instead, "Well... is he coming?"

"He um... He said..." Kol tensed his shoulders and put his hands in his jeans pocket. "He said he was taking care of something. Didn't say where he is, or what it is or when he was gonna be back."

"Oh..." She nodded slowly, perceiving the fact that, he wasn't gonna come to say goodbye to her. Last night, was in fact the last time she was going to see him. If she had known that, last night was the last time, it would have gone in a completely different way. She wouldn't have stayed silently as he poured out his heart or given him a straight face to hurt him.

Maybe he deserved it, she tried to console herself. Maybe the puppy face was to get me to stay. The reason he said all those was so I wouldn't leave, hoping I would fall for him and spill all the secrets that he thinks I know about the council or my Dad.

Then she decided, that she wasn't going to let him win. She was going to go back home. If at all he allowed it. She added to herself, bitterly.

"So," she said cheerfully. "When are we leaving?"

"How about in the afternoon?" Kol asked and Caroline nodded in response. "I gotta take care of something first since, well, Elijah and Bex are still at the hospital." He paused.

"Is she... um. Okay?" Caroline asked, hesitantly about Hayley.

"Yeah," he said on his way out. "It was a boy."

Tyler's son.

* * *

After an hour, she headed downstairs to look for Katherine, although her mind was still a turmoil of emotion. She was thinking about everything. About the mystery, the stone, her family, the council and — Klaus, when a low scream broke her from the trance, she was in. She felt for a moment, that she was just imagining it when the scream came back and didn't go, and was definitely joined by another.

Her legs hurried, following the scream and led her to the "torture chamber." She quickly pushed the door opened and the first one she saw was Kol, leaning against the table with the transformer in his hand, he spun around and faced Caroline.

Then her eyes met two of the three men that had been haunting her in her sleep. Ambrose Avery and Jay Karen. They were panting, sweating and pale, handcuffed to big chairs and about ten wires taped all over them. Ambrose lifted his chin up to look at the figure at the door. It was Caroline. The girl who had tried to send him to jail. He let out a small laugh.

"Ohh, my god... Klaus actually found them..." she muttered to herself.

"Caroline, what are you doing here?" He stepped closer to her, blocking the two men.

"Caro—," he coughed. "Forbes. Well. Long time no see."

Kol's forehead crinkled as he traced a path between Caroline and the man tied up to a chair with his eyes. "You two know each other?"

"Well, yeah, on first name basis, right?" Ambrose joked.

Kol sensed her tensing up. She stammered to let out some words, but to no avail. He finally took her out, closed the door behind and kindly held at her elbow and lowered his head, in an attempt to comfort her.

"Caredoll," he said in a soothing voice, acting all big brotherly. "Calm down."

"They... Raped me when I was seventeen," she blurted out.

"What!?" His eyes widened. He understood the anger Klaus must have felt. He knew exactly why he wanted to torture them. The fury in him built and he knew, he would make sure their suffering has no end. And he would do anything for his family. If anyone had touched Rebekah in the slightly inappropriate way, he would have killed them and the girl standing in front of him was someone he cared and loved — he has started to see family in her.

So he got to work. First he had to drop Caroline off to Mystic Falls and then he'll come and deal with the trash.

* * *

Rebekah hurried from the hospital, home to say goodbye to Caroline. She was devastated to see her go as she had so many plans with her. She thought she had time.

"I'm gonna miss you!" Rebekah hugged her tightly, tearing up. "I got to know what it's like to have a sister.." she let go of Caroline and smiled, wiping off a tear. "I'm gonna come visit you know."

"Yes, please," Caroline said. "I'll bake cookies."

"I'd love that."

She then moved to Elijah who politely nodded, "Take care, Caroline."

"I'll miss you, Henrik." Caroline said, semi hugging Henrik.

"I'll miss you too."

And just like how she came into their lives, she was gone. All at once.

When she got out, Katherine was waiting at the back seat of the car. Kol smiled as soon as he saw her.

"Is she coming?" Curiously, she asked Katherine about Hayley.

"No, she hasn't been discharged yet," Katherine explained. "I'll send someone back to get her as soon as she is."

"Are you ready to go back home, ladies?"

Caroline nodded, with unease.

* * *

 **Mystics Falls.  
**  
Mystic Falls hadn't changed at all within the month she was kept _hostage_. She looked at the crowd gathered at the school campus, preparing for the celebration of the Founder's day, like any other year. It was bright and sunny, like most days in Mystic Falls, and the clouds were fleeting, clearing out the sky.  
She caught a glimpse of Mrs. Lockwood giving orders to a bunch of high school students. As the she looked her Mrs. Lockwood, she couldn't help but wonder, how she would feel about becoming a grandmother? Would she resent the fact that Tyler had impregnated a woman? Would she be delirious? Or would she simply not let it affect her life in anyway? She couldn't predict her reaction to this life changing truth.

At a distant, stood Mason Lockwood – Tyler's uncle, hands crossed against his chest, just observing. Next to him were Ric and Jenna, with their daughter Nadia.  
Nadia, looked up at Jenna and nudged her arm saying something to her and Katherine could make out, her saying, "Please, Mommy!" Jenna smiled, looked at Ric and then back at little Nadia and nodded. Nadia, cheerfully ran towards the kids her age, engaged in some kid's play.

Katherine's steps felt heavier. She paused and let her heart melt.

* * *

In utter hopelessness, Liz opened the door. Her hair wasn't combed, and she had dark circles under her eyes.

She froze. Her eyes widened in disbelief a first and then her smiled turned into a low joyful cry as she threw herself on Caroline, crying out loudly, repeatedly calling her daughter's name and asking if this was indeed real.

"Mom, I'm here," Caroline tried to reassure her mother, stroking her back. "It's all okay. I'm fine. Everything is okay."

"Liz!" A familiar yet unaccustomed voice startles her, and she searched with her eyes, still hugging her Mother tightly. But when the figure that no longer even appeared to her in her dreams stood before her, her mind went totally blank her grip loosened.

The only thing she could stammer out was. "Da…Da…"

* * *

"Oh!" He exclaimed, overjoyed, taking her face in his palms and kissing her forehead. "You're here! Are you okay?" She stepped back, his touch so foreign to her that she felt slightly disturbed. In fact, everything about him felt disturbing o her. His voice, his concern about her wellbeing, it all felt surreal. Him being here is what's surreal. Where was all this, years ago, when she needed them the most?

"I just…" Caroline shook her head, wanting to get away instantly, walked past her parents into the living room. Her parents followed her, as their minds were filled with so many questions.

"What happened, Cricket?" Bill asked, curiously. She shot him a glance. _Cricket? Does he think we can pick up from where we left off?_  
"Tell me everything." He continued.

"I'm fine." She murmured.

"You were kidnapped for God's sake, Cricket."

"Caroline." She shot back. "It's Caroline."

He sighed. "Fine, Caroline. You know how worried your Mother and I was?"

She spun around, in complete and utter disbelief. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why were you worried about me?"

Liz didn't even try to stop. Bill had it coming.

"Cricket—" He stopped. "Caroline. You're my daughter."

"Maybe. But you're not my father."

And with that, his heart broke for the second time, and this time was beyond repair. Even though this conversation was inevitable, a tiny part in him always imagined the reunion with his daughter completely different manner. The exact opposite of the certain.

"Okay, I deserved that," he replied. "And whether you believe it or not, I care about you. I love you. You're my daughter, even when I couldn't be a father to you. I have kept track of you and your mum over the years. I was always there."

 _That's not enough_ , she thought to herself. She scoffed. "Not the William Forbes I had in mind, but not bad. Very stalker like." She gasped. "Hey, what do you do for a living?"

Bill looked at her ex-wife, asking for a little help.  
"Sweety," she made Caroline sit on the couch. "Let's stay focused."

"You can hate me," Bill added. "But right now, I need you to tell me what happened."

She hesitated to answer, but when she averted her eyes back to her mother, she decided to give it away.

"The Mikaelsons kidnapped me," she said.

"How did you escape the kidnappers?"

"I didn't.." she exchanged looks with both of them. "He… They let me go."

"What?!" Bill shifted from one leg to another. "They just let you go…?"

Then it hit him. Of course, they let her go. And he was so sure why.  
He hurried towards the guest room that he had been staying for the past three weeks, grabbed his suitcase from under the bed, then jolted outside towards them. He took a black rod like device, which when he turned it on, made an electric sound and the around the corners lit blue.

"What… what in hell is that?" Liz asked.

"A bomb detector." He added casually.

"A what!?" She scoffed, half not believing.

"Cricket, stand straight." Bill ignored her.

"What are you doing?" Liz screamed.

"I said, stand straight Caroline!" He yelled harder.

"Bill!"

She stood up, completely astounded at the paranoia of the man who stood right before her. "What's your problem?"

He traced the device up and down her from both sides as he explained. "This is a highly developed bomb detector. It could detect, small to huge bombs, inside or outside one's body."

They both blinked.

"Why do you have it?" Caroline asked.

"A long story," he simply added, satisfied of the results it showed and packed it back in his suitcase. "Looks like you are clear. So why would they let you off so easily?" he said it, more likely talking to himself.

"So the whole Mikaelson family was there? Even Klaus Mikaelson? Did you interact with him? Did you hurt you in anyway? He's the dangerous of them all…" He rambled on. "Did he torture you?" his eyes trailed on her arms to check for any bruises. "Did he sexually assault you?"

"No!" She yelping. "He didn't!"

"So you talked to him?"

"Yes, and –"

"What did he say? While letting you go? And how did you come here?"

"God, dad! It really doesn't suit you to be all that concerned about me. And besides, I was way more comfortable there than being here, with you. So, leave me alone and go deal with your crap and whatever the hell it is that you were doing for the past fourteen years!" she ran upstairs not wanting to deal with Bill Forbes anymore.

"Bill," Liz began. "Caroline is upset. I'm sure you can understand why. And thank you, for coming here, when we needed you. I really appreciate it."

"She's our daughter, Liz," he said in a calming tone. "Of course, I'd do anything for her. Anything. Be it, killing or confessing to what we did years ago."

"She doesn't wanna be around you Bill."

He fell silent.

"I think it's best if you left."

"If that's what she wants," Bill went on. "I'd leave immediately. But not before I make sure she is completely safe. For the rest of her life. And I'll make sure that happens."

He picked up his cell and dialed a number.

* * *

 **New Orleans**

The gunshots echoed deafeningly in the confines of the hall and Marcel heard a lady yell, "No! Noooo!" right before watching the man stagger and fall, clutching his neck. He closed his eyes shut, letting a tear stream down his face as he chanted silently. "No, no, no, no, no…" He looked up at the scum and his expression rapidly became deadly. "You son of a bitch!" He jolted anxiously with his veins fuming with anger, trying to lose the ropes that bound him to the chair. "You'll pay for that! I'll kill you! I'll make you pay for it!" He growled.

"Yeah, yeah," the man said in a heavy accent. His dressing style reflected his personality. Dark. Cold. Ruthless. "I'm sure you will, but let's get back on the topic, shall we? You were going off of it so I had to bring you back and well, your friend had to pay the price. Let me ask, one last time about the girl," he lowered himself to meet Marcel's eye, and something about him was disquieting. "Tell me about her. Where is she, hm? What's her name? What does she mean to him?"

"He aimed his gun at the blond, handcuffed to a poll across him. She shifted up nervously, still crying about her dead companion.

"Do we need a stronger motivation than him?" He motioned with his dead on the dead body.  
"Perhaps shooting the Ms. Pretty's leg would make you break your silence?" He yelped. Marcel stared up at him in utter disgust and anger. "You took this girl, to get back at Niklaus Mikaelson, so obviously she was somehow important to him. So tell me, before I shoot your beloved Sofia."

"Look," he finally spoke. "I'm telling the truth. I don't know –"

"Alright, say goodbye to another –"

"Wait!" Marcel yelled, and he felts as though he were at his wits end. "I kidnapped her because I though she meant something to him. But it turns out, to Klaus, other than his family, everyone else is just expandable. He is using her for something, that much I know. He showed no emotion whatsoever to her wellbeing when I kidnapped her. Was only concerned whether she was alive."

"IS that so?" he asked. "Then maybe you can tell me where she is now. And what's her name?"

"She is probably still captive, at his mansion." He replied. And then what he said next, he genuinely said it, thinking no harm could come to her while she was next to Klaus. "Caroline Forbes."

Forbes. Like Assassinator Forbes. Bill Forbes. An old friend of him, who kept in contact time to time. Recognition dawned in his eyes but was interrupted with his phone's ringtone.

"Whoever it is, you've caught me at a very –"

"Lucien, it's me," and it was no other than Bill himself and that amused Lucien. "What do you say, we both team up together to end the Mikaelson for good? You interested?"

He smiled.

After the phone call, Lucien said to Marcel, "Well you are in luck, my friends!" He exclaimed cutting the topes loose. "You've been very helpful and I got the very thing I wanted right in my hands now."

Marcel slowly walked towards the dead body lying on the floor.

"Apologies for the rather unfortunate incident, but," he smiled. "Nothing of worth comes without a sacrifice, wouldn't you agree?"

He then freed Sofia, who picked herself up and forced towards her lifeless friend. She kneeled down beside him, turned him over and wailed. "No! No! No! No!"

 _I'm so sorry man,_ Marcel thought to himself _. I'm so sorry Enzo._

* * *

 **New Orleans  
**  
Klaus received a letter in his mail, when he came home from God knows where. It was from Marcel. He almost didin't read it but his instincts told him to. It was a warning, sort of.

 _"An old friend of yours, Lucien Castle kidnapped me, tortured Sofia and killed Enzo right in front of me, just so he could get something that he could use against you. He is plotting against you, and planning to use your girl for it. Word has gotten out about a blond that Klaus Mikaelson fancies. He forced her name out of me, and I'm not sorry as it gave me Sofia's life. Mend your ways, Klaus. Or don't feel, for anyone the way I felt about your sister.  
Your friend once,  
Marcellus Gerard."_

He put it aside on the coffee table and sank to the couch, threw his head back and just closed his eyes.

He had no idea, how long he stayed like that when Kol's voice disturbed him.

"I took care of the rapists." Klaus shot him a glance. "It came out of Caroline… And you, my brother, were in denial and that must be exhausting so, I thought I'd take care of it."

Klaus narrowed his eyes, still not speaking a word.

"I tortured a confession out of them both. I made sure they wouldn't see the outside of the maximum-security prison for at least about thirty years." He boasted. "I had my ways around some lady lawyers."

He rested his head back again, thinking, planning his next move.

* * *

Okay so this chapter sucks, but I promise I'll improve! :(


	15. Chapter 14

**[Flashback Chapter]**

 **Atlanta City**

 **15th April 2000**

 **1:03 PM**

Mikael looked down with disgust at the little boy, who couldn't be older than 12, laying down at the floor as they both groaned with every whip he stroke at the boy's way.

Finn's car pulled aside the house. As soon as he heard his little brother's screams, he ran as soon as he could, without caring to lock the door.

"Father!" Finn screamed comming to his way with bloodshot eyes. "Stop it! Stop hurting him!" He pushed Mikael so hard, he landed on the side table, crashing with it on to the floor. Finn quickly pulled Klaus up, running a hand on his curly hair, looking at his scars with teary eyes when Mikael attacked both of them.

"Do not interfere me _boy_!" He screamed pulling Klaud away from Finn's hand and pushed Finn down to the floor. "He's not my son! And everytime I look at this bastard, all I see is an abomonation! Esther - your mother's indescretion with the pathetic dog breeder! Now I know why I loathed Niklaus since the moment I laid eyes on him!" His screamed echoed through the house, finally waking up the rest of the siblings from their naps. All three siblings got out of their rooms with a worried look on their face.

"Father's beating Nik again, isn't he?" Rebekah asked looking up at Elijah.

"Father says he's not our brother anymore, Elijah," Kol said. "But whatever he says, Nik's more of a brother to me than he's a father,"

"Kol, take your sister inside," Elijah muttered heading downstairs. "Check up on Henrik. And do not come down."

It was the week after, Mikael found out about Klaus. He had heard Esther talking to some man ovee the phone about getting away together and the conversation soon reached to Klaus. And ever since then, Mikael has been even more violent to Klaus than before.

And the second day without Esther. He had never imagined a day without her and the truth was, her absence hurt his soul. His ego, pride of not being Esther's choice, all of his emotions condensed to rage which he took out on Klaus, merciless, countless times.

While taking the beating, Klaus wondered, why Esther left. Why she never took a second glance at her own children before fleeing with his biological father. Had she thought Mikael would finally become a safe haven for him an the siblings? Had he not witnessed all his abuse on Klaus to know that it wasn't merely possible? She had abandoned him along with his siblings and there was no escape anymore from Mikael's ruthlessness.

At one point, before Elijah stepped in, Klaus was sure Mikael was not going to stop the beating until he was dead. And he knew, Mikael could kill.

He had head about the rumors of the Lebonnairs, which Klaus knew weren't rumors. Craig Lebbonair. He had made eyes at Esther for a long time, until one fine evening he, approached Esther who returned his feelings and Mikael had overheard it. Because Mikael, is always there, where Esther is.

And Craig paid the price. He along with his wife, and everyone else in that family were slaughtered the very next day.

There were some disturbing details to what he did with the bodies, that Klaus heard from the neighbors. Mikael was a suspect, he had cleaned the crime scene. It never led back to him.

As Elijah headed down, he heard grunts and screams and furnitures breaking down.

"Father!" He held Mikael's hand as he was almost about to smash an empty bottle into Klaus's head. "Don't!"

"Get away," Mikael growled. "Now, _boy_!"

Elijah managed to grab the bottle off from his father's strong hands. Finn made his way to stop Mikael from throwing Klaus off to the wall when a little girl's voice stunned everyone.

"Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!" Her straight blond hair was messed up. She hadn't bothered to neaten them. In Rebekah's tiny hands were a kitchen knife, pointed at Mikael - her very own father. "I will not let you hurt him anymore. If you ever do," she glared at Mikael and for a split second, he was afraid of his ten year old daughter as her threat sounded so clean and true, "I will kill you."

Mikael let go of Klaus, at once and walked slowly pass little Rebekah up staires. He had never expected in any life time to see his only living daughter behind a weapon pointing at him. Not to mention, the thought of her threatening to kill him. With every step he took up the staires, anger boiled inside him as so did regret of what he had done to his family. He had lost everything. The love of his life and his family as he knew for sure that all of his children would always stick together as one. There was no breaking that bond. But he was too proud to feel guilty — instead, all his anger directed towards the one who began all this : Hansel.

Elijah closed his eyes for a second, before kneeling down in front of his little sister and taking the knife away from her.

"Rebekah, you... you're forbidden to touch knives — aren't you aware of that?"

"I know." Rebekah spoke in her tiny voice. "I'm sorry, Elijah. Won't happen again."

In his room, his temper was out of control smashing everything. He then decided he was going to kill Hansel.

"You son of a bitch!" He screamed at the phone.

"Mikaelson!?"

"Shut up!" He groaned. "Your indescretions with my wife had me thinking, Hansel. I'll find you in your little home called Mystic Falls and then I will rip every nerve from your body in front of Esther. Then I'll take her."

He heard laughter.

"Oh you think I'm joking?"

"You're a coward, Mikael. You can't digest the fact that Esther left you. She chose _me_ over you. So it's her choice. If you love her, let her go. You could — "

"Your son is the coward! And you will die. Tonight. You have my word."

He hung up the phone and began breathing heavily.

Finn silently walked down the staires and just stood there for a long time... He knew, today was not going to end well.

* * *

 **Mystic** **Falls, Virginia.**

 **15th April 2000**

 **3:43 PM**

"Thank you all for coming to this meeting," Hansel muttered.

"What was so important at this afternoon?" Mayor Lockwood asked.

"Know a man named _Mikael_ Mikaelson?" He asked. The name was capable of stirring distress in the room. "He's the one who slaughtered the Lebbonairs 13 years ago."

No one said a word. Of course, they knew him. They were all frozen, just thinking about all the rumors they heard of him.

"Oh you remember the little not even a month old Andrea Lebbonnair that you gave up? Right?" He turned to Sherriff and then to Mrs. Mayor Lockwood. Then he gave each council member a look. "Don't? Let me tell you. You have her up to a lovely couple in Oregon - "

"We know what you're talking about," Kelly snapped a little annoyed.

"Okay, then. The Mr. Lebbonair made a move on Esther Mikaelson and to get back at him, he slaughtered everyone. It was the little girl's luck that she was with her grandmother, here in Mystic Falls, for the day. Because Mikael doesn't show mercy. Even towards children... If she were there, she'd be dead too." he continued after a short pause. "I had a thing with his woman, and it resulted in a child... he found out and he's coming after me, people. I need your protection... He threatened to kill me. Tonight. And he gave me his word for it. Which, you know, shouldn't be taken lightly."

"What the hell, Hansel?" Logan spat.

"It was tweleve years ago but according to Esther, he found out recently and has been beating up the poor kid ever since... It's not his fault," he gave everyone a look. "I loved her. I still do... He won't let anyone of us live in peace. He'll kill me and torture my son. Help me, help her..."

"What do you've in mind?" Grayson Gilbert asked.

"We draw him here. To mystic falls." He suggested

"How the hell is _that_ going to help you!? Or the kid?" Miranda asked.

"Love is a weakness, even for the devils. He'd do anything to protect the love of his life." Hansel, sneered. "And he's a love sick fool."

Guiseppe and Rudy snorted at his statement earning a confused look from Bill Forbes.

"And what do we call you?" Logan Fell mocked him.

"Alright." Sherriff Forbes ignored. "So how do we draw him here?"

"Leave that part to me." Was Hansel's reply. And he knew exactly how. Esther.

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia.**

 **Same day.**

 **8:02 PM**

"That son of a bitch Hansel brought Esther Mikaelson to the scene..." Logan Fell informed everyone, as they gathered in the meeting room. "He's using her to lure him to Mystic Falls."

"So what, now?" Guiseppe Salvatore asked.

"We wait... Wait for him to arrive." Hansel sat on one of the chair, calmly, as if nothing was wrong. "Then I'll approach him. And without a doubt he'll try to kill me and it is then, you will shoot him."

"Is this even a plan!?" Liz exclaimed.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Richard Lockwood yelled. "We are not gonna shoot the Mikaelson!"

"You will call it, protecting an innocent citizen." Hansel stood up and stretched. "

The door swun opened.

"She's gone..." Carol Lockwood muttered, blood dripping from her forehead. "Esther Mikaelson's gone.

* * *

 **8:30 PM**

How could all this go so wrong! They were under the impression that Esther wanted to escape the horrid Monster, the famous Mikael Mikaelson and live a life with Hansel, far away from the dread.

They were helping her. Helping her get the life she wanted.

Hansel was in the driver's seat, accompanied by Giuseppe, Grayson, Logan and Rudy. They were aimlessly driving with anxiousness filling them as the adrenaline pumping increased with each second.

They were all thinking, if we lose Esther... that's it. There'll no longer be a plan! Mikael will rage on us and there will no longer be anyone left even in Mystic Falls! We should have never tried to help this scumbag! He made us sign our death certificates!

Hansel had reached the Wickery Bridge. As soon as he saw what was before him, he suddenly hit the breaks. Another car, Bill's car pulled over across theirs. Their eyes were pinned to the two figures, standing in the dark.

Esther, with a gun, stood there, in between Mikael and Hansel. She was weeping.

"Esther, love, give me the gun," Hansel, softly muttered.

She looked at Hansel. And then at Mikael. And then into nothingness as she turned around and pointed the gun to her head.

Mikael and Hansel jolted in fear. No one said a word.

Then the gunshot was fired. Everyone's eyes were firm on Esther, filled with horror. Watching for her brain to explode and body to drop on the ground. Then there was another roaring. And then another. And then another.

Mikael screamed in agony and suddenly dropped on his knees. The weapon in his hand fell. Reaching out with his hand, he gently touched his legs. Then looked at his palm, in disbelief. The darkest, red-colored blood came sputtering out of him like a waterfall, making a pool around him. Mikael saw it oozing slowly out of his legs, and let out a blood-curdling scream.

Then he tried to reach the gun with his hand. And Bill fired again. He yelled as the bullet teared through his arm.

"You will all die!" He screamed. And then, silent.

Bill quickly tossed the gun aside, took Mikael, on his back and put him at the back of his truck.

Esther was in shock. Complete shock.

Hansel asked gently, for Esther to lower the gun as it was all over now. And Giuseppe followed him.

Still in a trance, Esther yelled. "Stay back! Or I will kill you, Mikael! Stay back!" She pointed the gun at Giuseppe. Then raised the gun above her head, firing up in the air

"Stay back!" she screamed, her eyes were deadly as she pointed it back at Giuseppe. "Stay back Mikael, or I swear, I will shoot you!"

"What the hell!?" Giuseppe wailed. "Your woman has gone crazy!"

"Wait!" Hansel yelled as she ran towards the car, hoped up and stood their, pointing the gun at each one of them. She shot.

"No, Esther stop!" Hansel yelled. "Mikael is dead. He's gone he's —" but Esther kept aimlessly shooting.

Giuseppe in a split second took out his gun, and let it fire. The bullet pierced through her abdomen wall, and in no time the thick liquid coursed out.

"No..." Hansel muttered.

Her gun dropped. She placed both her hands on the wound.

"No..."

She gave one final look at Hansel.

"Nooo..."

Then dropped over the car, off the Wickery bridge, into the lake.

"No!"

Everyone screamed Hansel's name as he ran towards, and jumped off.

* * *

The whole lake was searched, the very same night but to no luck. It did strike them as odd but they were forced to call of the search after sixteen hours.

When Bill was about to dispose Mikael's body in the woods, he heard a wail escaping through his bloodied mouth.

He sighed.

"This is just fantastic!" he muttered sarcastically, kicking the shovel into the ground, forcefully.

* * *

 **16th April, 2000.**

 **3:45 pm.**

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Sheriff Forbes declared smacking her bare hands at the Hey side of the desk, where nine other people were seated. All the members of the Mystic Falls Council were confined into the meeting room which stanched of anxiety and nervousness. "The council will be held responsible."

"We are aware of that, Liz." Carol Lockwood raised her voice, her arms crossed against her chest, biting into her perfectly manicured fingernails.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Liz questioned. "This was the plan to put a stop to what could have happened —to act against nothing but a threat given by him! And now, _she_ is dead! His. Wife. Is. Dead! We had to keep her as leverage against My—"

"We took the responsibility of protecting one of our own by killing one of them! This only worsens things!" Grayson Gilbert announced. "He'll retaliate and this time, I'm afraid there will be a massacre and he'll rip our damned heads off and keep them as trophies."

"We had no choice but to kill her! She was going to shoot Giuseppe and he acted in self-defense!" Logan Fell snapped.

"It's true I mean —" Giuseppe Salvatore was interrupted.

"It's not our fault she tried to shoot —" Logan tried to convince everyone.

"It _is_ , Logan!" Liz Forbes banged her hand again. "If we hadn't kidnapped her —"

"Then he would have killed Han —" Kelly Donovan was interrupted by Miranda Somers-Gilbert.

"Who is dead anyway! Everything — is just a mess! It's all screwed. We failed. And — and I fear that Grayson's right... What if he comes after us!? What if comes after our children!?"

"We won't let that happen..." William Forbes trailed off.

" _How_?" Liz glared at her husband, her blue eyes shooting daggers. "Enlighten me, Bill."

Richard had sat on his chair, throughout the discussion. He seemed to be drifted into a deep thought. "We frame him..." Mayor Lockwood informed. "For murdering his wife."

"What!?" Miranda and Kelly said at once. Everyone else glanced and the Mayor. Liz was still stunned by the new idea suggested by the Mayor; it took her a moment before reacting.

"That is insane! We did this. This is our doing - "

"Liz, would you rather let him run loose and drag our asses to prison leaving our children behind — under the care of a pathetic foster system? For God's sake, think! We did not have the permission to carry out the plan, yet we did it to protect this town! If the government finds out about this, we lose everything! If not, we are in danger. And so are our children." Mayor Lockwood gestured. He took a moment to sigh. "He's a threat now. The moment he gets back on his feet, we are all as good as dead. We made a mistake and now we are forced to fix it. "

"You call this fixing the mistake!?" Miranda shook her head, hugging herself.

"This is just covering up one mistake with another, don't you think Mayor? This doesn't make us any better than monsters like him." Rudy Bennett suggested.

"It will put away the monster that we're all afraid of," Mayor said. "One that's perhaps a bigger monster than us. This is not the time to think about doing the right thing. It's the time for choosing the safest choice. To protect our families, our homes, our town." He locked his eyes in Liz's. "And that's the only choice we have if you come to think about it."

"Besides," Logan Fell put his arms together. "You all witnessed what he did to the Lebonnairs. It's not like he doesn't deserve it." He gave each one of the members a quick glance. "I'm with Mayor Lockwood on this."

"But what about the bodies?" Kelly Donavan asked impatiently. "We have nothing to frame on! We never found them."

"Grayson's a doctor," Logan turned his attention to Grayson. "Stealing two unidentified bodies from the morgue seems like an easy job and the post mortem reports could be altered, can't it Mrs. Gilbert?" He gave Miranda a crooked smile. "The rest could be left to us. Bill could plant the evidence while... Giuseppe fixed the bodies in his fashion. Sheriff could play along with the Mayors and me giving dramatic interviews to the press." He turned to face Kelly, who was the reporter of Mystic Falls, who unfortunately happens to be one of the founding families.

"Also," Rudy Bennet clasped his palms together, moving forward in his chair. "He is _injured. Multiple gun wounds._."

"Man gunned down," Richard said proudly. "After he killed his wife and her lover and attempted murder of other citizens present at the scene."

"That'll be the headline." Logan smirked.

"You all must be one brick short of a full load!" Liz yelled.

"Liz," Carol placed a hand on Liz's shoulder. "You need to calm down — "

"Grayson," Mayor Lockwood talked. "You know your job. Do this for the sakes of your children. If we don't put away this monster, we are all doomed."

After a while of thinking, Grayson Gilbert finally nodded.

"It is the only way," Mayor Lockwood gave all a convincing look. "You know I'm right."


End file.
